Twelfth Night
by jibbsloversunited
Summary: One of McGee's fans is desperate to get his attention - and will go to great lengths to get it. A story by Elflordsmistress. Jibbs AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

This is a story for **x0NCISx0** - who asked in a review whether the inspiration for the name _Imogen_ (the infant in _The stork comes calling_) came from Shakespeare ... and inadvertently gave me a plot bunny.

It may be the Christmas season 'n' all, but my brain jumped from _Cymbeline ..._ to _Twelfth Night_ ... to the _Twelve Days of Christmas_ carol ... and then back to _Twelfth Night_.

This is the result.

________________________________________________________________________________

"I'll have to research the predatory, manipulative, grandiose nature of this behavior, but my first impression is that we're dealing with a complete loon."

Anthony Di Nozzo suppressed a chuckle.

"That Master's in Psych is starting to pay off, Ducky."

"Sadly this is no laughing matter ..." Ducky replied, looking at the papers in front of him.

Tony was about to say something in return when the doors to autopsy swished open and Gibbs walked in.

"What've we got, Duck?"

"Where did these come from, Jethro?"

"McGee's publisher. She brought them in herself an hour ago."

"Considering her involvement last time I'd say that was ... wise of her."

"You learn anything from them? Same person?"

"Yes" Ducky said as he spread the letters on one of the stainless steel tables. "These are definitely written by one person."

"We at stage one? Stage three?"

"There are stages?" Tony asked.

"Stage one is _attraction_" Ducky said as he picked up the letter at the far end. "This one was written around seven weeks ago. Thom E. Gemcity is on a pedestal. There were two more letters written within the space of one week. Same vein. There is an understanding that there hasn't been enough time for him to respond, but the desire to adulate and to compliment is irresistible. To the fan the writing is impeccable. The author can do no wrong."

Tony snorted.

"Have you ever actually _read_ McGee's novels, Ducky?" he asked derisively.

"I have" the medical examiner replied, lowering his eyes with a smile.

Tony's eyes widened.

"You can't be serious .."

"You should be flattered, Tony."

"Flattered?"

Gibbs shifted impatiently when it seemed as though Ducky might expound on his theory.

"There a stage two, Duck?"

Ducky picked up the fourth letter in the sequence.

"This" he said "was written four weeks ago. "Thom hasn't replied, and a sense of desperation has started to creep into the tone. Phrases like _your words sustain me_, and _I live to be your muse_ suggest that she has already moved onto the next stage – which is _obse_ -"

"_She_, Ducky?"

"In Greek mythology the _Muses_ are a sisterhood of nine goddesses or spirits who embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces. Not only are the Muses explicitly used in modern English to refer to an inspiration but they are also implicit in -"

"So she wants to _inspire_ McGee?" Gibbs cut him off as he motioned towards the next letter.

"Three more letters. Again in the same vein. Again written within the space of a week."

"There a pattern here?"

Ducky angled his head for a moment.

"One does not become a predatory stalker overnight, Jethro" he said slowly. "Up till this point there were two sets of three letters each. Written three weeks apart. Until this letter arrived. _Two_ weeks ago."

"Less gap. She's getting impatient" Gibbs said as he did the math.

"And she's moved to stage three."

"Which is?" Tony asked.

"_Destruction_" Ducky said slowly. "The threats are somewhat vague in this letter" he said, placing his hand over the seventh letter. "Not so vague in this one." He held up the eighth one. "And not vague at all in these" he spread his hand over several others. "She's gone from writing three letters a week to five a week. Each one slightly more aggressive than the one before it. The only thing that's consistent is her desire to inspire her idol."

He picked up the last letter in the row.

"This one is by far the most disturbing."

He turned it over in his hand once before handing it over to Gibbs.

"_I know I can still be your inspiration_" Tony read aloud over his shoulder. "_I know you'll want to write about the gentleman in the marquee_."

"She offering him ideas, Duck?"

"I believe they're known as _plot bunnies_, Jethro. And no .. I fear it's a little more serious than that. Read the last line."

"_Don't make me do this,_" Gibbs read.

He looked to Ducky for interpretation.

"A sentence like that, coming at the end of a long line of unreturned fanmail might indicate that she has become increasingly delusional."

"And?"

"I can't say for certain, but I suspect she feels that now that all else has failed to garner Thom's attention it may be time for something a bit more ... noteworthy."

"McGee in any danger?" Gibbs asked.

"It's not McGee I'm worried about."

"Then who?" Gibbs asked as he dropped the letter back on the desk and fixed Ducky with his best penetrative stare.

"I can't help thinking that this means something" the medical examiner replied, holding the letter up again. "This _gentleman in a marquee_. It has a ring to it that I can't quite ..."

"We have twenty letters ..." Gibbs rationalised.

"Make that twenty-one."

They looked up in time to see Leon Vance enter the suite. With McGee trailing behind him.

"Got another one, Boss" he said as he placed a package on the table.

"Delivered by courier to NCIS. Twenty minutes ago."

"What's in it?" Ducky asked.

"This" McGee said as he tipped the contents out onto the table. "Abby's checked it for prints already. Came up empty. Whoever it was apparently used a drop-off box. Ziva's talking to the people who work inside the building."

Ducky picked up the piece of paper.

"_Now maybe you'll pay attention to me_" it read.

"Are we missing something here?" Vance asked.

"It feels like we are" Ducky mused as he compared the note to the other letters. "Definitely the same person."

The silence that fell was shattered by the ringing of the Director's cell phone. He listened to what the caller had to say and then snapped his phone shut.

"Metro PD found a body" he announced. "Piece of paper attached to it."

"What did it say?" asked McGee with trepidation.

"_Ask Thom E Gemcity about the first day._"

"Oh dear God" Ducky said as he picked up the penultimate letter and read the clue again.

"What is it Duck?"

"i knew there was something about it that was familiar. This is a spinoff from the old carol _The Twelve Days of Christmas_."

"How is that significant, Dr. Mallard?" the Director asked.

"This letter was a warning" Ducky replied as he took a closer look at its envelope. "A warning that got delayed in the Christmas mail and wasn't opened by the publisher's minions till this morning."

"How can you be sure?" Vance asked.

"Because this letter is postmarked December 20th."

"I thought the twelve days of Christmas were the run up to the holiday" Tony said, confusion written all over his face.

Ducky shook his head.

"The origin and the counting of the Twelve Days is .. complicated. To say the least. Contrary to popular belief they are not the twelve days _before_ Christmas, but the twelve days _after it_. In our family the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the First Day of Christmas. January 5th is known as _Twelfth Night_ – the precursor to the _Twelfth_ D_ay_ of Christmas .. which is the Epiphany. Officially that is when the Christmas season ends – with the visit from the three wise men."

"And this is relevant _how_?" Gibbs asked.

"We're working under the assumption that the first day of Christmas is December twenty-sixth, Jethro. That was Friday this year. Today is Monday. It was intended to reach Tim _before_ Christmas. He was meant to respond to the threat. And when he didn't ..."

"She made good on it? Is that what you're saying, Duck?" Gibbs asked, stupefied.

Ducky looked sombrely at the agency director.

"Do you think she'll kill again?" Vance asked.

"I think it depends on whether she gets Thom E. Gemcity's attention. I suspect there are other missives that got caught in the mail."

"If the first day of Christmas was Friday, that means ..." Tim said slowly.

"That today is day four."

"Do you think the number of gifts will correspond to the number of bodies?"

McGee was almost sure he didn't want the answer to his question.

Tony did the math in his head.

"That would be a lot of bodies" he said.

"Seventy-eight" contributed Vance.

Ducky was still looking at the letter in his hand.

"Killing people isn't what motivates her. What she wants is Thom E. Gemcity's attention."

"Well I'd say she's got it" said Gibbs, sparing McGee a look.

"Murder is a means to an end here. She's acting to impress a man who works crime scenes for a living and who writes crime novels" Ducky said.

"Are you sure about this carol thing, Dr. Mallard?" Vance queried.

"There is one way to find out. Call Metro PD. Ask them if the body has been identified yet. If I'm right the man's last name will be _Partridge_. In all probability randomly selected from a phone book."

They waited in silence as Vance placed the call.

The look on his face as he received the information told them all they needed to know.


	2. Chapter 2

McGee looked up at Abby hopefully.

"Nothing on these either" she said empathetically as she placed three new letters in front of him. "I was hoping to get something off the back of the stamps, since it's the place that only the sender touches. Nada, nothing, zilch."

Ziva approached the desk as McGee made to pick up the letters and then pulled his hand back at the last second.

"You have not read them yet" she observed.

"I can't, Ziva" he said without looking at her.

"You feel responsible" she said slowly. "You feel that if you had not written your books this woman would not have become obsessed with you."

McGee nodded, the feeling of helplessness that had become his constant companion in the past twenty-four hours washing over him again.

"The last time I had an obsessed fan two people died."

"And you are afraid .." she continued as Ducky and Tony appeared from her left, "that she will kill again if you do not give her what she wants."

"That's part of the problem" he said in frustration. "I have no idea what she wants. What does she _want_ Ducky?"

He pushed the letters towards him.

The medical examiner sighed as he picked the letters up from the desk and perused their contents.

"Ducky?" Tim asked, his voice betraying the fear he was feeling.

"This is all very cryptic" the older man said slowly. "A_ fine pair of gloves,_ _three black pens, four painful words_."

"But?" Gibbs appeared from the right, coffee cup in hand.

"There is no _but_,Jethro_. _I stand by my original theory. She is giving Thom E. Gemcity writing prompts. She wants to be his muse."

"At least there are no people involved in these" Abby said – in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

"You are correct" Ducky said, as his eyes ran over the words again.

"In Mossad, part of the training is to be open to things you cannot see, or even understand" Ziva said. "Can there be hidden meaning in these words?"

McGee groaned, and Ducky patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"I think not" he said. "When she wrote these she had not yet killed Mr. Partridge."

"But you aren't sure" Tim probed.

"One can never be sure when dealing with the mind of a psycopath."

"But are you _reasonably_ sure?" Tim persisted.

Ducky pressed harder on his shoulder.

"Don't do this to yourself, Timothy. It's not your fault."

"How can it not be my fault when - "

"Agent Gibbs - I'll expect you and Agent McGee in my office in a few minutes" Vance called out to them as he walked past Tony's desk.

All eyes turned to follow him, and the first thing to catch their attention was the flash of red hair that stepped out of the elevator.

"Who's that?" Tony asked Gibbs as he admired the legs on the woman walking up the steps with the Director.

"I guess we're about to find out" Gibbs replied, taking a long sip from the cup in his hand as his eyes followed the redhead. "McGee ... lets go."

A few moments later Director Vance attempted to make introductions.

"Special Agent Gibbs and McGee, this is Metro Police Detective -"

"Anything we can help you with, Detective?" Gibbs asked. "I take it this isn't a social call?"

"I am conducting an investigation into the death of Oswald Partridge" she answered, her eyes appraising him. "I am here to escort Agent McGee to headquarters."

"That's not gonna happen" Gibbs said.

"I will not stand for a cover up, Agent Gibbs."

"There is no cover up."

"I am going to conduct an investigation whether I have your approval or not. Your director has already assured me that we will have NCIS' full co-operation."

"McGee has nothing to do with this" Gibbs said, his eyes boring into her.

"I'll be the judge of that."

"I'll handle this Agent Gibbs" Vance interjected acerbically. "Metro have already shared their preliminary report with me a-"

"And? What's in it? You got evidence that links McGee to the crime scene? Lets have it."

"If Agent McGee has done nothing wrong why are you being so defensive?" the redhead asked.

Gibbs ignored the question.

"McGee has already made his statement. _Not involved_. That isn't going to change."

Vance moved from behind his desk.

"Thank you for coming" he said to the detective, trying to avoid the argument he could feel brewing. Something he knew the agency couldn't afford. "You'll have NCIS's full cooperation."

"Do I get to question Agent McGee?"

"Yes ... but not to-"

The door to his office burst open.

"Boss ..." Tony said breathlessly. "There's been another delivery."

"Agent Gibbs .."

The voice was suddenly gentler now, and Gibbs turned to look at her when the others had left the room.

"We obviously got off on the wrong foot."

Gibbs waited and stared at the hand she proffered When she didn't retract it he took it warily.

"Caroline Whidbey" she said slowly. "I didn't mean to come across as so .. aggressive, but I do have a job to do and .."

"I understand that" Gibbs said slowly. "You just need to stay out of my way doing it."

"I was going to say that I would appreciate your help doing it. The sooner I clear Agent McGee the sooner I can get back to finding the person who did this. Your man is an author in the public eye. If this leaks to the press ..."

"You threatening me, Detective Whidbey?"

"Not at all, Agent Gibbs" she said – and the sincerity in her tone was hard to ignore. "Just pointing out that it's in everyone's interest that we work together."

Gibbs' cell phone rang.

"Yeah, I'm on my way" he said before he looked the detective over, obviously thinking seriously about the words she'd just said. He nodded, spun on his heel, and left the room. "You waiting for an invitation?" he asked, turning back when he realised she wasn't following him.

Caroline smiled fell into step beside him.

"You wouldn't happen to be the LJ Tibbs in the novels, would you?" she asked as they rode the elevator down to the lab.

Gibbs looked at her and rolled his eyes.

"What've we got?" he asked as he approached the crowd round Abby's workstation.

"Five gold rings" McGee said, his face pale as he held up a ziploc bag for Gibbs and the detective to look at.

"And a note" said Ducky, holding it up.

"What's it say?"

"_Five missing things_" Ducky read aloud.

"Are these real?" Caroline asked, taking the bag and turning it over in her hand.

"They are" announced Abby. "Solid gold."

"Prints, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"Partials."

"Enough to go on?"

"AFIS is enhancing and digitising as we speak."

"Five gold rings, five missing things" Ducky mused aloud, his eyes cutting to Gibbs.

"Stolen?" Gibbs and Caroline said together.

"Possibly" Ducky said. "But my larger concern is the _owners_ of these rings."

"Taking out five people at once would be quite something - especially for a woman. Hey!" Tony glared at Ziva when her foot connected with his shin.

Ducky paced for a moment before speaking.

"On the surface she's providing prompts, but she hasn't got the author's attention yet. I believe she's playing games. As Tony says, it would be almost impossible to kill five people simultaneously. But one could be managed." He reached across and picked up the bag of rings. "The question is ... which one?"

"Stolen property is sometimes reported" Tony said, remembering his rookie days writing up reports about all types of 'lost and found' items for Baltimore PD with a shudder.

"Look into it" Gibbs barked. "Start with the area Partridge was found. She may have picked someone close to home."

"On it" Tony said, moving out of the lab as soon as Caroline had given him the information.

"Ziva ..."

"People reported missing in the past twenty-four hours. I will run a search" she said as she followed Tony.

Gibbs turned to McGee.

"I'll help Abby with ..."

He was taken aback when Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder.

"Not your fault McGee" he said. "We'll catch her."

McGee swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to Abby.

"Gibbs .."

Vance motioned for him, Ducky, and Caroline to step out of the lab with him.

"What's the probability that she's taken a hostage?"

"Likely, I'm afraid." Ducky replied.

"Is that your professional opinion, Doctor?"

Ducky's brow furrowed when all eyes turned to him.

"I'm out of my depth here, Director. We're going to need help on this one."

"Any recommendations?"

Ducky shook his head, and Vance turned to Caroline.

"Detective Whidbey?"

"Last year a six year old boy was found dead in a railroad car. His sister was missing. She was .. " her voice cracked slightly "she was almost four. We worked the case with the FBI. With the profilers over at the _Behavioural Science Unit_ at Quantico."

"Marine Base" acknowledged Gibbs, drawing a modicum of comfort from the knowledge.

"Did you find the child in time, Detective?" Vance asked.

Caroline nodded, but there was residual emotion in her eyes - testament to what had doubtless been a harrowing experience for all concerned.

"Anyone in particular I should be asking for?" he pushed.

"Yes."

"Name?"

"Jenny Shepard."


	3. Chapter 3

"She's switched to a different courier, Gibbs" Abby said as she examined the latest delivery.

"We have eleven people out there watching potential drop off locations – including the two she's used already" Tony said. "If she's changed carrier .."

"Start over" Vance ordered as he entered the lab. "Put a few more people out there. But keep the people we already have out there in their positions."

Everyone watched Abby slit the package open and pull out a letter. When she'd analysed it and come up with nothing she held it out to McGee tentatively.

"Let me" Ducky said when he the young agent read it once, then tried to find his voice and failed.

McGee passed it over without a word.

"_Dear Thom, I really don't know what else I can do to convince you not to dismiss me as just another fan. Did you want a better plot? Was it not good enough without a murder? You made me do it you know .. and yet I can't bring myself to stop reaching out to you. When I see you I know I have to help you. Let me help you. Please._

_Six minds a-straying."_

"Duck?" Gibbs asked as the medical examiner put the letter down, closed his eyes tight and exhaled.

"I believe the use of _Dear Thom_ indicates that she feels a connection with Mr. Gemcity. A _kinship_ of sorts. I think she's making him complicit."

He rested his hand on McGee for a moment, lending silent support when he saw him blanch.

This .. _when I see you_ part" Gibbs said. "This mean it's someone McGee knows?"

Ducky placed the letter back on the table with a sigh, but before he could say anything McGee spoke.

"Landon knew me. We spoke every day over coffee."

"Di Nozzo" Gibbs ordered. "I want a detail on him every moment he's not in the building or with one of us."

"Boss ..."

"It's not a discussion, McGee."

Tony nodded. He looked at McGee for a long moment – debating whether or not to make some smartass remark.

He abstained.

"Director .. did you have any luck with Quantico?" Ducky asked as his eyes hovered over the writing again.

"I was on the phone with the Director of the Behavioural Science Unit before coming down here. Dr. Shepard is not available."

"Did he say why?"

"_She" _Vance corrected, "said that Dr. Shepard and her team are finishing paperwork on a case they just wrapped up – before they leave for some very overdue vacation. Apparently they worked right through Christmas, and she doesn't particularly want them to work through New Year as well. She said we could have our pick of any of her other tea – where are you going?"

He looked at Gibbs as the latter plucked the last letter out of Ducky's hands and pocketed it along with the others that were lying on the table behind them.

"To talk Dr. Shepard out of her vacation" he said as he headed for the door. "McGee .. you're with me."

Vance shook his head, and exchanged a quick knowing look with Ducky before leaving the lab himself.

______________________________________________________________________________

Jenny Shepard moved deftly from one part of her office to the other – shredding papers, filing others, packing a briefcase, answering a phonecall.

"I know" she laughed into the phone, "I _know_ how good it looks on me. You've only told me five thousand times. And yes ... I packed it. Did you pa – hang on Pip. Can I help you?"

She covered the mouthpiece as she caught sight of the two men in her doorway.

"Dr. Shepard? Jenny Shepard?"

"Yes?"

"Special Agent Gibbs. NCIS" he said as he flashed his badge at her.

"I'll see you at the airport, Pip" she said into the phone before putting it down.

"Special Agent Timothy McGee" he ventured when she looked at him next.

Jen came round her desk, taking a coat off a chair and pulling it on.

"You caught me on the way out. Literally" she said, indicating the suitcases a few feet away. "What can I do for you?"

"We were hoping you could help us" Gibbs said as she swung a handbag over her shoulder and wound a scarf around her neck.

"I'm sure any of my colleagues will be able to help you" she said as she stepped behind her desk just long enough to turn off to power down her computer and turn off her monitor.

Gibbs tossed the wad of letters onto her desk.

"Five minutes" he said.

"I have a plane to catch, Agent Gibbs. It leaves in less than two hours. Any one of my co-"

McGee's eyes widened at the next word to come out of Gibbs' mouth.

"Please?"

McGee watched Jennifer Shepard's eyes cut to Gibbs. Whatever she saw in them was enough to make her sit in her chair and take the letters he was still pushing across the desk at her.

"Five minutes" she said. "And then I'm going to recommend which one of my colleagues is best suited to the job ... and leave."

"Fair enough" Gibbs said.

"Where did you get these?" she asked as put glasses on and looked the letters over.

"They're McGee's" Gibbs answered indicating him gently with his head.

Jen raised her head and observed the young agent closely.

"Are you Thom. E. Gemci-" she started to ask.

"What?" Gibbs asked as she placed several of the letters in front of her and compared them.

"She wants to be his _muse_. This is a woman."

Jen tugged the scarf from her neck and placed it on the back of her chair – never taking her eyes off the letters.

"If you look at the handwriting" she said "you'll notice that _script size_ is average to small. This shows that she's able to concentrate on daily activities without being distracted too much by what's going on around her. The _pressure_ is very heavy. Heavy pressure usually means the writer's emotions are very strong and long lasting. She may be inclined to hold grudges and will not quickly forget the actions of friends. Or enemies. Pressure amplifies all other traits found in writing. The writing is vertical. This is someone who tries not to show his emotions. Which is very different from not having any. Anyone who holds back their emotions makes a conscious effort to do so, causing a certain amount of stress and inner turmoil. but the thing that grabs my attention the most .. is the _baseline."_

"What does that mean?" McGee asked, finding his voice.

Gibbs looked on in silence as Jen shrugged off her coat, and continued to analyse the letters.

"Well, in the first few letters the baseline is ascending. Usually that means a certain degree of optimism. As the letters progress it dips, and then it becomes wavy - usually indicating a person whose emotions are unstable and out of control. But in this letter .." she held up the missive about the gentleman in the marquee" the baseline is straight, indicating rigid control over the emotions. Emotions build up over time and have to be released."

She looked straight at McGee.

"All the letters after this one have the same straight baseline. All except this last one ... where the baseline is undeniably wavy. What happened inbetween _this_ and _this_?"

She held up the letters in question.

"She killed the gentleman in the marquee" Gibbs said slowly.

Jen's eyes scanned the last few letters gain, and Gibbs was taken aback to realise that she'd only been looking at the handwriting all this time, and not at their actual content.

"Five missing things" she read aloud, as her eyes alighted on the words. "Did something come with this letter?"

"Five gold rings" McGee replied.

"Stolen?"

"We believe so."

"She's equating the people she robbed with things. And yet these are real people and not characters in one of your novels. Or even the characters she hopes you will write about based on her suggestions."

"We could really use your help on this, Dr. Shepard" McGee said, his voice cracking slightly.

Jen looked at him, and then looked at her bags.

"I am truly sorry" she said as she got to her feet. "I really do have a plane to catch. I'm going to recommend you talk to my colleague - Dr. Dennis Crenshaw."

She scribbled the name on a piece of paper and passed it over to McGee. Gibbs waited till she was halfway out the door before he dropped the bombshell.

"We think it likely she has a hostage" he said. "And we have no idea who it is."

Jen turned slowly from the doorway.

"One of the five rings?" she asked slowly.

Gibbs nodded.

"We could really use your help on this one, Dr. Shepard. Detective Whidbey says .."

"You're a friend of Caroline Whidbey?"

McGee stared as Gibbs nodded.

Both men watched as Jen took a deep breath. Then she put her suitcase down, returned to her desk, and picked up the phone. When she'd made her excuses and hung up, she turned to McGee.

"From the beginning" she said.

She unbuttoned her coat again, and was surprised to find Gibbs standing right behind her waiting to relieve her of it. She smiled at him and he hung it up without a word. The look in his eyes – halfway between gratitude and appreciation - made her stomach flutter.

But she didn't look away.

Gibbs' cell phone rang as they were driving out of the Quantico.

"AFIS matched one of the partials on the third ring" he said to the other two when he'd hung up with Abby. "The guy's doing time for assault and battery. He's been in jail for over three months."

"But if he's been in jail for three months .." McGee said from the back seat.

"She's a planner. This isn't something she's doing on the spur of the moment" Jen contributed, her mind working overtime. "She may have stolen these rings months in advance – working up the courage to use them perhaps."

"Di Nozzo and Ziva have gone to interview the spouse" Gibbs informed them. "We'll know more when they've talked to her."

_____________________________________________________________________________

"Has anyone been through the rest of your fan mail?" Jen asked McGee two hours later – when introductions had been made, and they'd been left to talk in autopsy with Ducky. "Do you get much of it?"

"Most people prefer to use email these days" McGee said.

"Do they come directly to you?"

"I have an account that the email is forwarded into by my publisher's assistant.

"Do you read them?"

"Yes" he admitted. "I set aside a few hours every few days to read and answer fanmail."

"And there's been nothing out of the ordinary?"

McGee shook his head dejectedly.

Jen looked closely at him and then leaned forward and placed her hand on his.

"It isn't your fault, Tim."

"It feels like it's my fault" he said with a bitter smile. "

"And nobody is doubting you either ... if that's on your mind at all."

McGee's eyes cut to hers.

"You have a pretty strong advocate in Agent Gibbs" she pointed out.

"Jethro is intensely loyal" Ducky pointed out.

"I figured" said Jen with a smile, thinking back to how protective of McGee he had seemed in her office earlier.

"I'm sorry you missed your flight" McGee said.

Jen shrugged.

"I'll go when this is wrapped up."

"But it's new year's eve in a couple of hours and -"

"And there's no rest for the wicked, McGee."

"Ohhh" Jen said as her eyes fell on the coffee cup that Gibbs was holding. "I'd kill for a cup of coffee right now."

Gibbs stared at her for a while, and then held out his cup.

"Haven't touched it" he assured her.

"Right now I wouldn't care less if you'd spat in it" she said with a smile as her fingers curled around the cup that he was still holding.

Gibbs released the cup slowly, enjoying the fleeting contact - and watched as she took a long sip from the it.

"I love Jamaica blend" she said appreciatively when she was done.

Ducky was suppressing a smile when Tony and Ziva walked into autopsy.

"Tell me you have good news, Di Nozzo."

"The ring was stolen from a gym called _Results_ in the WDC metro area about five months ago."

"Any other members missing a ring?"

"Manager's faxing over the list as we speak. Might take a while to find out. There's over two hundred members, and many people are out of town, or at the very least out of the house tonight. Not everyone has a cell phone listed."

"Get Abby to help you" Gibbs said, indicating to McGee that he should join the other team members. "And order in. It's going to be a long night. Ducky ... if you have somewhere you need to be .."

Ducky looked at him for a moment.

"They're playing poker at the rest home" he said with a smile. "I'd rather not be there when mother introduces them to the _strip_ version."

Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder and then he turned to Jen.

"If you'd rather go back to the hotel ..." he said.

"I'll stay." Jen returned his smile, and then her face clouded over. "Dr. Mallard ... do you think we could go over those letters again? There's something bothering me .."

"Of course. But it's Ducky" the medical examiner said.

He spread the letters out onto one of the tables and he and Gibbs watched as she pored over them.

"This" she said, pointing to a line in the latest letter. "_When I see you I know I have to help you."_

"We interpreted it to mean that it's someone he knows" Ducky said.

"I've been wondering about something Agent McGee said to me earlier" she said as she looked up at Gibbs, her brow still creased. "I need to talk to him again."

Gibbs turned on his heel and walked of autopsy.

Jen looked at Ducky in confusion.

"Was it something I said?" she asked.

Ducky smiled.

"That means we follow" he said gently, taking her by the arm and propelling her towards the door.

"We struck gold, boss" Tony announced as soon as they walked into the lab. "We've spoken to eleven people. Four of them have had rings stolen from them."

"Are all the owners accounted for?" Gibbs asked.

"All except one" Ziva said, looking up. "A _Melanie Murphy_. She drives tractor trailers, and she's on the road right now. Left two days ago. Her phone keeps going straight to voice mail. I'm on hold while her boss checks her route."

Gibbs nodded.

"Pick up the other three" he said to Tony. "We're not taking any them into protecti-"

"Gibbs."

They turned to look at Ziva.

"Melanie Murphy never made her first drop off."

Silence reigned for a few moments until Jen spoke softly to McGee.

"Tim ... you spoke to me earlier about an email account that fanmail gets forwarded to."

"Yes" he said.

"Are there any ... sites .. dedicated to you on the internet?"

In the background she could see Tony rolling his eyes.

"A few" McGee admitted, keeping his eyes to the ground.

"Do they have special access features? Forums, chat rooms with IM capabilities. That kind of thing."

"A few of them have forums. At least one that I know of them has a chat room" he said.

"Have you ever been in the chat room?" she asked carefully. "Have you ever interacted with your fans?"

McGee's eyes widened.

"Yes" he said. "Yes I have."

"Anonymously?"

"Yes."

"Regularly?"

"At least once a week – usually at the same time as I'm answering fanmail."

"What makes you think .." Gibbs began.

"It's the line _When I see you_ _I know I have to help you"_ Jen explained. "I don't think she meant it literally. I think she's online at the same time as McGee. I think she figured out a while ago that it's him."

"Then it should be easy to find her" Gibbs said.

"That will depend on how much traffic the website gets."

"Traffic?

Gibbs looked lost for a second.

"How many members the website has and how many people visit it" McGee explained.

"How many members _does_ it have?" Tony wanted to know.

"The one with the chat room has three thousand seven hundred plus members" McGee said, drawing a shaky breath.

"And are guests allowed to post?" Jen asked.

"Yes."

"So we could be looking at another couple of hundred."

McGee nodded.

Jen patted him on the back reassuringly.

"Then I'd say we have out work cut out for us" she said.

In the background Tony groaned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

I am absolutely _not_ saying we're potential psycopaths, or that there's something wrong with us. Or even remotely suggesting it. You'll know the part this refers to when you reach it. And you're supposed to _smile_, not take umbrage.

____________________________________________________________________________

From the corner of the lab Gibbs watched Di Nozzo try and flirt with Jenny Shepard. He wasn't sure what amused hm more – the fact that he wasn't getting anywhere, or the fact that he hadn't realised yet. He smiled when he realised that a headslap wasn't going to be necessary.

"So if you weren't with us right now you'd be ..." Tony fished as he looked at the monitor over her shoulder.

"Sitting on a beach in the Caribbean" she replied without looking up.

"Soaking up the sun ... sipping cocktails ... reading .. what would you be reading?"

"Feminist tripe."

"Feminist tripe? What's feminist tripe?"

Jen peered at something on the monitor and took notes as she answered.

"Woman struggles with her inner demons, leaves her oppressive spouse, becomes self-empowered, finds someone with the soul of an artist and the sexual prowess of a beast."

"You read _sex novels_ for pleasure?" Tony asked, his jaw dropping.

"Pretty much" Jen replied without batting an eye before she turned to McGee. "Is he always this juvenile?"

"Only on days of the week ending in _day_" the younger agent replied.

Jen turned on her chair and looked Tony up and down.

"Like what you see?" Tony asked, appreciating the scrutiny.

Jen licked her lips and pondered her response for a moment. Then she leaned in close.

"Expensive taste in clothes, occasionally insightful, not a respecter of boundaries. Tell me Agent Di Nozzo .. does your car have standard transmission?"

"What?" It wasn't quite what he had been expecting.

Jen smiled.

"Not every man is a natural alpha male" she whispered before she went back to her screen.

Before he could come up with a suitable response a new voice sounded from the doorway.

"Jenny?"

Jen raised her head and smiled widely at the man who had just walked through the door with Director Vance.

"Dennis" she said.

"I'm sorry to drag you away from your family."

"Please .." he said with a smile of his own. "The kids were happy to skip lunch with me. They have better places to be these days."

"This is my colleague - Dr. Dennis Crenshaw" she said by way of introduction as he removed his coat and sat at the terminal she'd been using. "He's going to be helping us."

"We appreciate your help" Vance said.

"Anything for Jen" he said, with a small smile in her direction. "So ..."

"Did you have a chance to go over the copies I faxed you?" she asked.

Crenshaw ran a hand over his face and pulled a stack of papers from the briefcase in his hand. Jen looked at the parts he'd highlighted and annotated. They conferred for a while before Jen nodded and turned to the others.

"We're looking for a woman in her mid-to late thirties. She's timid. Socially inept. In all probability she can't hold down a job. From the way she's been operating we know she's meticulous. A planner. She lives in her mind" Jen carried on. "In books. Online. I'd expect her to be active on the internet in a variety of forms. Living a lot more vicariously than she realises perhaps."

She paused for a second and turned to McGee as something occurred to her.

"Is there much fanfic based on your work?"

"_Fanfic_?" asked Gibbs.

"_Fanfiction_ is a term used to describe stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original author" Dennis explained. "Some authors request that people not write about their work. Are you one of them?" he asked McGee.

Tim shook his head.

"It's an active community then .." Dennis said, more to Jen than to anyone else.

"And another avenue we have to pursue" she said with a small sigh. "Abby ..."

"I'm on it" the goth said as she turned to her computer. "Whoa ... McGee .."

"What?" Tony asked, moving alongside her.

"Fanfiction dot net has over two thousand stories listed for _Deep Six_."

"Maybe they think they can do a better job than you, McAuthor" Tony said snarkily.

"How many authors?" Jen asked, ignoring him.

"A lot" Abby replied.

"We're going to have to have track them down and cross-reference them with the people in the chat room McGee's been on. "

Jen shared a worried look with Dennis.

"I'm calling them in" he said, pulling his cell phone off his belt when Jen nodded.

"Call _who_ in?" Vance asked.

"Our teams" Dennis replied. "And a few more people besides. We're talking hundreds of user names that need to be identified. You don't have the capability here. This part of the operation needs to move to Quantico."

Vance nodded his approval.

"We're likely to find that she has problems relating to people online as well as in person" Jen continued. "We're looking for someone who probably doesn't say much – or who potentially caused a disagreement and then backed away. She is likely to avoid situations where there is direct assault. Of any kind."

Dennis's eyes cut to Vance suddenly.

"What did the police report say about the way the victim died?" he asked.

"He was drugged before he was killed" Ducky said.

Dennis exchanged a knowing look with Jen.

"Then we're probably looking for a woman with a small frame. She'd need the advantage."

Jen nodded. She picked up the last letter and placed it in front of McGee.

"I can't help thinking that this means something" she said, underscoring _six minds a-straying_ with a perfectly manicured fingernail. "Does this ring any bells?"

"No."

_"Minds_. So far, apart from the gentleman in the marquee it's been objects. Gloves, pens, words, things. With _minds_ we're back to people. There has to be more to this."

She ran a hand across her face.

"I need some air" she announced suddenly.

"I'm heading back to Quantico" Dennis said to her when he ended the phonecall he'd placed. "She's calling everyone in. All leave is terminated as of now."

"Was she pissed?"

"She didn't say."

"Did she _sound_ pissed?"

Dennis shrugged.

"I'll walk you out' Jen said, reaching for her coat. Surprised to find Gibbs right beside her.

"You look like you could use a cup of coffee" he said as he helped her into it.

__________________________________________________________________

"How did you know I needed to look at something beautiful?" she asked as they strolled in a small park near the navy yard and sipped coffee.

"Lucky guess" said Gibbs with a bob of his head.

"I take it by that you mean you followed your gut?" she said with a soft smile – amused by the way he tried not to do a double take. "Thanks for this, by the way."

She took another sip of her coffee as he acknowledged her thanks with a small smile.

"You do that often don't you .. follow your gut?"

"Uh-huh" Gibbs replied.

"Does it always serve you well?"

"For the most part. You?"

She surprised him by shrugging.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this job" she said with painful honesty. "There's such ... _depravity_ out there. So many of the things we see are the stuff nightmares are made of. I wander into the minds of others, Jethro, and sometimes .."

She trailed off, conscious that she'd used his first name as though it was the most natural thing in the world. She risked a look at him, but before her eyes could meet his she felt him place a hand on her shoulder. Without thinking she placed one of her own over it.

"It's a tough line of work" he said slowly – and she was sure he was talking about both of them as she nodded.

"I used to feel a sense of satisfaction each time we took someone off the streets" she said. "Now with all the cybercrime out there I feel like we're fighting a losing battle."

She was concsious of the fingers under hers as she asked him the next question.

"Have you ever lost a fight, Jethro?"

The look in his eyes as he answered spoke volumes.

"Not sure I even ever won one."

Her fingers tightened involuntarily over his.

Gibbs looked away for a second.

"When this is over ..." he began.

"I'd like that" she said with a soft smile.

Gibbs smiled and nodded – words between them unnecessary.

"We should be getting back" Jen said slowly as they fell into step next to each other.

"Yeah" he replied.

But she was sure he was walking that little bit closer to her.

"Agent Gibbs .." one of the security guards said as they entered the foyer.

"Jim?"

"There's someone at the gate asking for Agent McGee. Something about a package?"


	5. Chapter 5

All their hopes that there would be no deliveries because New Year's day was considered a public holiday had been dashed the moment they'd set eyes on the package at the front gate – and on the young man who had delivered it. And now, as he returned from a coffee run, Gibbs pondered what several hours of interrogation had brought him.

Absolutely nothing.

He'd brought all of his experience in interrogation to bear - coming at the man from pretty much all angles. It had been a pointless enterprise. The guy was a petty criminal. A rich man's offspring. Running a business on the side to finance his drug addiction without putting himself on daddy's radar. A business that relied on word of mouth, and used a yacht club on the Washington Channel as its base of operations.

"People leave packages for me there" he'd said. "$100 per run within the DC area. Paid upfront. Cash. Left with the package. No questions asked."

If he was to be believed he'd developed quite the reputation, because there was no shortage of clients - even if he had no idea who they were. He delivered gifts to married women from their lovers, drugs, and pretty much everything inbetween.

The rustle of snoring emanated from the lab as he entered it. Someone had dimmed the lights, but he could make out five forms. Ziva's head was resting on Abby's worktable; Di Nozzo was lying on the floor, using Bert as a pillow; McGee and Abby had fallen asleep at their terminals. Only Jen was still awake. Gibbs stood in the semi-darkness and watched her for a while – not at all surprised that she was still awake while his team had passed out. Whatever she was working on was clearly frustrating her. Her eyes darted from the monitor to the papers in front of her. Occasionally she tapped the keys and crossed something off one of her papers, but her focus never diminished.

"Hey" she said after a while – and he smiled when he realised that she'd probably been aware of him all the time.

"Hey" he said, placing a cup of coffee on the desk.

She wrapped her hands around it and shot him a grateful smile as he came to stand behind her.

"I'm going to need an hour with my massage therapist _and_ my chiopractor by the time this is done" she said as she stretched a little, rotated her neck and heard it crack. "Mmmm ..."

"Anything?" Gibbs asked, rubbing her shoulders as he spoke.

He hadn't considered that the feel of her knotted muscles loosening under his strong hands would be gratifying. But it was. Her head fell back against his midriff as he continued to coax tension from her.

"It's one very long slog" she said as she indicated her list of possibles matches. "So many people that don't quite match that need to be looked into."

"The snoring keep you awake?"

Jen chuckled.

"Actually it's the stuffed animal. It .. makes _noises_ every time Di Nozzo turns in his sleep."

Gibbs smiled and ran thumb pressure on the underside of her shoulder blades.

"You might want to consider doing this for a living if NCIS ever stops being an attractive prospect" she mumbled appreciatively, before sitting up straight and angling her body to look at him. "Deduce anything?"

"Apart from the fact that it might be better if that enterprising mind focused on something legit ... nothing."

"It's worth looking into. If nothing else the package got there somehow."

Gibbs pushed himself off the desk and walked into the outer room. Slowly but deliberately he toed Bert out from under Tony's head.

"Tired, Di Nozzo?" he asked as he crouched next to him.

"It's 2am, boss."

"Better get moving then."

"On what?"

"Need to know what goes on at this address when nobody's looking."

He handed him a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it.

"Tonight?"

"Technically speaking it's this morning."

Tony rose to his feet slowly and moved towards McGee.

Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Didn't say anything about you needing a partner."

When he turned back to Jen she looked up at him. The amused look in her eyes told her exactly why he'd picked Tony for the job. Although she also understood and admired his need to keep McGee close.

"How's he holding up?" he asked – almost as though he knew her thoughts had run to the younger agent.

"The guilt is eating away at him" she said after some consideration. "The fear too. I've been trying to talk to him – but he isn't ready to hear what anyone has to say at the moment. He's too paralysed by his sense of helplessness. I'll keep trying. Sometimes it takes a stranger."

Gibbs nodded.

"Appreciate it" he said.

They were smiling at each other in the semi-darkness when her cell phone went off. She scrambled to reach it before it woke the others.

"Dennis. Yes, I got them, thanks. Still working on the first batch. Sure ... give me what you've got."

She took notes as Gibbs looked on.

"The only thing we got last night was _seven lives a-dimming_. No, nothing else. Right. Mmhmm. How are you guys doing over there? Do I need to come back there? Good ... I think I can be more use here. Okay. I'll speak to you later then. And get some sleep Dennis!"

She closed her phone.

"They've tracked down a few more user names that might fit the profile."

She stood from the desk, the last two missives in her hand.

"I'm missing something here, Jethro. She made the transition back to people with _six minds a-straying_. And now she writes _seven lives a-dimming_. _Seven lives a-dimming_ ..." she repeated over and over as she paced under his scrutiny, "and the only think my brain can come up with is people in a rest home."

Gibbs' eyes narrowed.

"She's killed one person, potentially has another one hostage, and if this is the clue for day seven then there are five days left. She still has the option to claim five more lives."

Jen stopped pacing abruptly.

"I can't sit by and watch six people die" she said, her voice.

"Me either" he said, taking one step closer to her.

"Can you imagine what that would do to McGee?" she asked, looking out into the lab. "You'll lose him Jethro."

"I know."

His voice was gentle but she could hear every emotion in it, every loss that lurked beneath the surface - and it set her pacing the office again.

"And I've got nothing. No insight, no ideas, no recourse. Nothing. I'm coming up empty."

She pivoted with every intention of crossing the room again, and came up against Gibbs. He placed his hand very firmly on shoulders and brought her to a halt.

"It's because you're running on empty, Jen. It's after two in the morning. You need to get some sleep."

"But that poor woman .." she began, her voice cracking.

"You'll be of no use to her if you're not at the top of your game. Sleep. It will all still be here in a few hours."

For a moment Jen allowed herself to think of the last time she'd actually slept. She found that she couldn'r remember.

"Come on" Gibbs said the moment he realised she wasn't going to fight him on it. "I'll drive you."

"Drive me where?" she asked as they entered the elevator.

"I'll find you a hotel" he said.

He was surprised when she touched his arm.

"I don't think I can handle the sterility of a hotel at the moment."

Gibbs looked her for a long moment, and then he nodded.

___________________________________________________________

Jen looked around her when they reached his basement – looking over at him for permission before she ran a hand across the boat's hull.

But it was the tools that interested her most.

"Putting the _man_ back in manual labour huh?" she said as she picked up a planer and turned it over in her hands.

Gibbs smiled as he divested a mug of its nails and poured a measure of bourbon into it.

She suppressed a laugh as she took it from him – thoroughly amused by the fact that although on the surface it might seem as though he wasn't trying to impress her, everything about him screamed self-assurance. She was even more amused by the fact that she was responding to his subtle overtures. That she'd been responding to them since he'd walked into her office. She took a long sip of bourbon and felt it go to her head immediately. Casting round she saw a couch tucked away beneath the stairs.

"How long have you worked for NCIS?" she asked, stifling a yawn as she sat down on it.

"Almost seventeen years" he replied as he sat down beside her. "How long've you been at Quantico?"

"Six years" she replied, her attempt at stifling not so effective this time round. "I worked out of the field office in New Orleans before that."

Her head drooped slightly but she caught it with a jerk.

"How did you end up with an Scottish doctor, a goth, an ex-cop, a crime writer, and a Mossad attachment officer on your team?"

As Gibbs talked she felt the tug of sleep. His voice lulled her into a state of relaxation that it was hard not to succumb to – even if she put up a valiant fight.

"Do you thi-"

The mug clattered to the floor unheeded, and Gibbs smiled when he realised she'd fallen asleep mid-sentence. He wasn't surprised. If he'd read the situation correctly she'd been operating on minimal rest for days – if not weeks. He eased himself from the couch slowly and lowered her gently onto her side.

He looked down at her for a while, before pulling a blanket out from the under the couch and covering her with it.

She looked so peaceful that he couldn't resist running fingertips down her cheek. He wasn't expecting her to nuzzle his palm in her sleep - but it had been instinctive and she didn't stir. For a moment he wondered who she thought had been touching her, but pushed the thought from his head just as surely as he pushed himself away from the couch. He looked her over once more and picked up the planer – watching her as he worked.

He sensed her become unsettled before the night terror hit, but he knew better than to try and wake her. Instead he sat on the floor next to her and talked to her gently of random things. Spoke her name softly, and stroked her hair. He'd been through too many days and nights of abject terror himself after his time in the military not to recognise the fallout of working in such a niche as hers. He dealt with dirtbags for a living. For the most part the crimes he investigated stemmed from cases involving loss of life – but they were a far cry from the things she must witness on a daily basis. When she settled back onto the couch he looked at her again – feeling a wave of tenderness in her regard.

He dropped a kiss to the top of her head before moving away from her again.

_________________________________________________________________________

**Author's note:**

Although _night terrors_ are usually associated with children, there are adults who have them.

Oh .. and for the purposes of this story Gibbs has a couch in his basement. Since it's an AU I feel ... justified in giving him one.


	6. Chapter 6

She appeared in his kitchen just as he was filling his cup, and Gibbs found himself wondering whether the smell of brewing coffee had roused her from sleep. The thought amused him.

"Morning" she said from the doorway.

"Afternoon" he corrected, nodding at the clock that was hanging over her head.

She nodded when she saw that it was just past midday - knowing that it was pointless to ask why he hadn't woken her sooner.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked instead.

"A little" he replied – feeling no need to explain that he'd watched over her all night. He could tell from the way she asked the question that she had no recollection of the event – which was just as well, he decided.

"Anything new?"

She took the coffee he was offering gratefully.

"Di Nozzo brought the yacht club custodian in for questioning."

"And?"

"Couldn't get anything out of him."

"Think he's covering up for the delivery guy?"

Gibbs shrugged.

"I told Di Nozzo to hold him. We should probably head in as soon as you're ready."

Jen nodded.

"Would you mind if I had a shower here?" she asked. "I feel a little ... crumpled."

"Sure" Gibbs said, putting his coffee down on the counter. "I'll get you a towel."

"I probably need something to wear too" she said after careful consideration. "I'm pretty sure there's nothing suitable in my suitcase. I packed for ten days in the sun. Wouldn't want to give Agent Di Nozzo an eyeful" she said as she followed down the corridor.

"Bathroom's in here" Gibbs said, grinning at the thought of Tony inviting a headslap."I'll get you a towel and something to wear."

"I have jeans but I could do with .. a sweater of some kind?"

Gibbs returned a few moments later to hear the water running in the bathroom. He knocked once and slipped into the steamy room.

"Towel and sweater on the vanity" he said before stepping back outside.

He was sitting in his kitchen drinking another cup of coffee when she appeared again. It was useless trying to refrain from smiling when he saw her. She was swimming in the red hooded sweater he'd put out for her – and she hadn't tried to turn up the cuffs.

"Got anything something a little smaller" she said. "Maybe something an ex-girlfriend left behind?"

Gibbs looked her over once and something that she couldn't quite decipher flashed across his face.

"Help yourself to more coffee" was all he said as he brushed past her.

He stood in the spare room and opened the closet slowly. He wasn't sure what was possessing him to do this. He never looked at these things; always too afraid that the memories would engulf him. And he certainly never shared them with others. But as he reached for the top shelf it didn't feel wrong either. As he pulled another hooded sweater from the top his hand trembled, and he almost left it there.

"Did I sa-"

He heard her voice behind him and pulled the sweater down from the place that had been its home for the past seventeen-odd years.

"How's this for size?" he asked, with a bit of hoarseness to his voice.

He was grateful she didn't question it, but just from the way she took the sweater and touched it before putting it on, it was clear she knew he'd given her something of immense sentimental value.

"Thank you Jethro" she said quietly, stepping backwards and giving him the space she could tell he needed.

She hadn't missed the crack in his voice, or the way his eyes had darted over her as soon as she'd put on the sweater. She knew that for a moment it hadn't been her he'd been seeing.

__________________________________________________________

"The stories are pretty consistent" Tony said a half hour later in the bullpen.

"A little too consistent" Gibbs shot back.

"You think they're lying?"

"I think they're well-rehearsed. But it may have nothing to do with our case."

"You gonna have a crack at him, Boss?"

"Yeah." He had walked a few feet when he turned back again. "Get some rest Di Nozzo."

Tony smiled. The smile faded as soon as he realised that Gibbs had pointed at his desk before walking towards the back elevators with Jen.

"Wonder what's taking them so long" Abby was saying to McGee in the lab.

"Yeah. Wonder what they're doing."

"Wonder what he's showing her."

"Wonder if she likes it."

"Wonder if she's ever met someone like the silver fox before."

"Wonder if she can handle him."

"Wonder it there'll be Jibblets."

"Wonder if they'll name them after us."

"And _I_ wonder when you two guys are gonna stop yakking and do some work" Gibbs snapped as he and Jen walked into the lab.

"Gibbs! Dr. Shep-" Abby said as though they hadn't been talking about them at all. Whatever she'd been about to say went unsaid when she saw what Jen was wearing.

Jen looked between Abby and Gibbs trying to decipher what was passing between them. The goth's eyes were full of emotion, but Gibbs wasn't responding to it. He didn't strike her as someone who shied away from anything, and yet he was looking elsewhere. Not making eye contact.

"What've you got Abs?" he asked as soon as she dropped her eyes.

"McGee thinks he's got something" she said quietly to Jen before turning back to her terminal.

"Tim?" Jen asked, when she realised that he too was looking at the lettering on her sweater she was wearing – albeit a bit more discreetly.

"McGee!" Gibbs snapped, and the young agent practically stood to attention.

I've been going through the list of usernames" he said as he walked over to the spot Jen had been occupying the night before. "Six of them stand out."

"Stand out how?" Jen wanted to know as she looked at the highlighted names and crosschecked them with what they knew about the people. She'd already been through these. None of them fit the profile. Five were men, and the female was in her late fifties.

McGee brought up his account and accessed his private message inbox.

"Here" he said as he ran his finger down the screen. "They're all here - _tibbslover91_, _Thomsgal413_, _0xDeepSixx0_, _ljtibbsunderwear_, _renegadecop_, _Specter72uk_."

"How did we miss this?" Jen said – more to herself than anyone else.

"I thought you said there was only one woman" Gibbs said suddenly, his eyes narrowing.

"There is" McGee said slowly, dreading where this was going. "_Thomsgal413_."

"So this _ljtibbsunderwear_ person .."

"Is a man" Abby said nonchalantly. "You know, I've been checking out the stories, Timmy. There's a lot of slash."

"I know" he conceded nervously, sneaking a look at his boss.

"_Slash_?" Gibbs wanted to know.

"Slash is a genre of fanfiction that focuses on the romantic – and usually sexual - relationships between same sex characters in the world of a novel or television series" she explained, finding it harder and harder not to laugh as she watched McGee turn all shades of red.

"So Tibbs is ..."

"Totally heterosexual, Boss" McGee offered quickly.

"I'll be in interrogation" Gibbs said as he glanced at the screen one last time before heading out the door. "Get to the bottom of it."

"Tim" Jen coaxed as he stared after Gibbs with a worried look on his face. "McGee!" she snapped when he didn't turn round.

She smiled when he jumped and looked startled.

"We need to focus. I should have picked up on this earlier. How often do you talk to these people?"

"Um ... regularly."

"How many of these threads are you active on?" she asked as she accessed the main page of the forum and scrolled through the pages.

McGee pulled up a few and stood back as Jen perused their contents.

"They're all very active posters" she said after a while. "You interact with these six a lot more than anybody else."

"Becuase they respond to my posts and keep the conversation going" he said, hating how defensive he sounded. "Does that mean anything?"

Jen looked at the screen again and ran a hand across her mouth.

"Her desire to be your muse has to stem from somewhere, Tim. She may feel that you give a lot of attention to these six people – that one of them has more of a chance of influencing you. It may be our _six minds a-straying_. It may also explain why she felt the need to get your attention with something bigger. To impress you."

The gravity of her words hung in the air until Jen roused herself and pulled her cell phone from her jeans.

"Get into their accounts" she said. "See who they've been messaging back and forth with. See what they've been saying. I need to check with Dennis what progress has been made on _guest_ posts. And I need to speak to Ducky. Good job, McGee" she said, patting him briefly on the shoulder before leaving the lab.

_________________________________________________

Ducky looked up from the body on his table, and Jen didn't fail to notice the way his eyes, too, fell on her sweater. When she looked down at it too and then looked back at him he exhaled, and put his scalpel down.

"I take it you never attended _Stillwater High_" he said carefully.

"No."

"You do, however, have questions."

"How long has she been dead?"

Ducky looked at the woman in front of him for a long moment. The last time he'd spoken to a woman about Jethro's past it hadn't gone well. But this was different. This woman wasn't threatened by it. Wasn't threatened at all. There was no agenda beyond a the desire not to say or do the wrong thing.

"Coming up on seventeen years" he said slowly.

"Were there any children?"

Ducky didn't miss the use of the past tense.

"One. She died with her mother."

"Was it a violent death?"

"You might say that."

Jen paused before asking her next question – turning it over in her mind several times before asking it.

"Does Jethro always get his man?" she asked slowly.

"Always" Ducky replied, knowing precisely what she was asking.

Jen nodded.

"Thank you Dr. Mallard" she said as she turned to go.

She'd hardly taken four steps when the doors swished open and Ziva stood there.

"There's been another delivery" she said.

"Finish up here, Mr. Palmer" Ducky said as he removed his scrubs and hurried after the two women.

_______________________________________________________________

The air in the lab was tense enough to cut with a knife when they arrived. McGee sat there as white as a sheet. Director Vance was pacing. Gibbs had been called out of interrogation.

Abby held something up.

"It's a videoclip" she said, as she put the chip into one of her machines.

"Something's not right" Jen said, concern furrowing her brow. "So far we've had written clues. She's deviating from the norm."

"And that means .." Gibbs pushed.

Jen shared an intense look with Ducky.

"That she feels she isn't getting the result she wanted" the medical examiner offered. "Her game isn't working."

"Or maybe she doesn't care about the puzzle anymore" Jen said, not bothering to conceal the anxiety in her tone. "Play it, Abby."

Abby activated the device and sidled close to McGee.

The film had obviously been shot in the dark using an digital camera – but in spite its grainy nature the sound was clear. It was impossible to make out the speaker's features but there was little doubt in anyone's mind that this was Melanie Murphy.

"_Please let this be your inspiration, Thom" she begged. "She thinks that if you hear my voice it will make it real for you. Please. I want to see my husband again. I want to see my little girl .._"

She trailed off - only to continue a few seconds later when the chair she was sitting on was prodded.

"_It will all be over by twelfth night."_

The screen went blank.


	7. Chapter 7

Jen found her eyes drawn to McGee for the third time in about half an hour. His unease was palpable, and she was trying to understand what was holding him back. She'd made her recommendations to Director Vance, and he'd accepted them without reservation. But none of it would work without Tim's input - and instead of jumping onto the wagon, he'd asked for a few hours' grace before contacting his publisher. Watching him now she could see the toll that the situation was taking on him very clearly. He was working, responding to things his colleagues said to him, but there was detachment to him. She watched him a while longer, and then picked up the copy of _Deep Six: Rock Hollow_ that she'd been reading – in the hope of learning a few things.

"Why haven't you written anything since 2006?" she asked, putting the book down in front of him.

She glanced once at Abby, and perfectly on cue the goth vacated her stool.

Tim looked confused by the question, and Jen picked the book up and turned to the back cover.

"The editor of _The Times _calls it _a novel of satisfying complexity and bite and verve._" she said. "_Rolling Stone Magazine_ calles it _a dazzling leap of imaginative sympathy and narrative magic_. Jeanne Poole of _Vanity Fair_thinks it's_ outrageously clever, surrealistically imaginative, mordantly witty and funny in spots ..."_

"She also thinks _it's densely overwritten and tedious._" McGee pointed out wryly. "And the _Film Actor's Guild_think that the main character is the books' greatest flaw."

"And is that why you stopped writing?"

"Yes. No" he added when the look on her face told him she didn't believe that. "Tony said he'd kill me if I ever wrote another one."

"Because you based the character of Agent Tommy on him?" mused Jen with a smile as she put the book down.

McGee shrugged, and then nodded before looking away.

"Have you always been the butt of his practical jokes, snide innuendoes, and juvenile putdowns?"

"Pretty much."

"So you channelled all of that into your fiction – rather than punching him on the nose."

McGee's eyes widened for a moment, and then they dimmed again.

"I'm not like them. Tony was trained as a cop. Gibbs was a marine sniper, our colleague Kate protected the President of the United States, and God only knows what Ziva did with Mossad. My background is biomedical engineering and computer forensics. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a field agent."

Jen looked at him.

"Is that why you write about LJ Tibbs?" she asked. "Because he's the agent you want to be? Because, you know, this has nothing to do with your ability in the field. I can't see Agent Gibbs keeping you on his team if he didn't think you were meant for the job. And Tony is always going to outrank you. And he's always going to tease you. I'd see it as a sign of affection. We rarely push buttons with people we don't respect. Unless we hate them – which I don't believe is the case here."

McGee sighed.

"He's being nice to me. Tony being nice to me means I'm _really_ in trouble."

"He's concerned, Tim. Everyone is."

"They're walking on eggshells around me."

"Gibbs too?"

"No" he admitted.

"You're second-guessing yourself" she said, patting the book. "We all do when things go wrong. I threw up the first time I attended an autopsy – and you know what I do for a living. It took me a long to accept that taking lives was going to be part of the job description. I'm even willing to bet Di Nozzo wet his pants the first time he shot someone."

McGee's eyes widened again.

"How did you ..."

He trailed off when she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Right .. reading people is what you do for a living. Is that why we're having this conversation?"

"We are having this conversation because we can't get to the bottom of this without you, Tim. I need you to respond to the crisis. You're the only one who can."

McGee stared at her.

"What's the most audacious thing you've ever done at NCIS?" she asked suddenly.

"Erm ... told the Deputy Director of State to _stick it_" he said after a moment's thought.

Jen smiled as she rose off the stool.

"Well now you need to _stick it_ to the woman who's turned your life, and that of several other people, upside down. I know you feel helpless. But she's given us an avenue we can pursue. Lets pursue it."

She squeezed his shoulder encouragingly.

"I'm going for coffee " she said. "Want one?"

McGee looked at her and shook his head.

"I'll see you in a little bit" she said, her eyes softening when she turned to leave and found Gibbs standing there.

She couldn't tell how much of the conversation he'd heard, but she wasn't surprised when the only thing he said was "I'll join you for that coffee."

McGee watched his boss usher the FBI agent out of the lab, and then looked up to find Abby standing there.

"You can do it, McGee" she said, enveloping him in a hug.

He smiled and flexed his fingers.

"Very dramatic" Abby said with a small giggle, as she went back to her own work.

McGee took a deep breath and pulled up the forum webpage.

He started a new thread and began to type.

__________________________________________

Gibbs observed Jen as they rode up in the elevator.

"Think he'll do it?" he asked after a while.

"I think he looks up to you too much not to" she said slowly.

"Not really the right reason for doing something."

"He lives in awe of you, Jethro. And yet he isn't afraid of you. He has a lot of untapped potential. He'll do what he needs to do – and he'll get it right. There's nothing wrong with you being the catalyst – even if you don't recognise that you are."

Gibbs nodded, and dropped a hand to the small of her back as the doors slid open and they walked out into the bullpen.

"Nothing yet? Jen asked Ziva as they walked past her desk.

Ziva shook her head.

"Going for coffee" Gibbs said, as he propelled Jen towards the main elevators.

Tony watched them go and then his eyes cut to Ziva.

"So .. do you think he gave her the sweater or she rifled his closet?"

"Why do you assume I know?"

" Because. "

"Because I'm a woman?"

"Because you're a great detective. "

"True."

"So?"

"I don't know."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Not the answer i was looking for Zee-vah."

"Maybe you should ask him."

"Maybe _you_ should ask him."

"I am not the one who is intrested in Gibbs' sex life, Tony."

"Who said anything about a sex life?"

"Are you assuming Gibbs does not have one?"

"Yes. No. Why did you have to go and put that into my head?"

"Put _what_ into your head, Agent Di Nozzo?"

Tony looked up into the face of Director Vance.

"The realisation that I need to get some. Food. I need to get some food."

"Uh-huh. Tell Agent Gibbs I want to see him when he gets back" Vance said before walking away.

"Who's the woman?" Ziva asked, as she watched him climb the stairs ahead of a tall dark-haired woman.

"McGee's publisher" Tony said with a slight shudder, as he picked up the phone and called Gibbs.

_______________________________________________________________________

"I hope you people know what you're asking" Lyndi Crawshaw said a short while later when Gibbs, Jen, and McGee were all in the Director's office with her.

"We understand it's short notice but - "

"_Short notice_, Director Vance? Do you have any idea what goes into organising a _reading_? And ywant a _small informal _type thing" she scoffed. "I have to find a suitable place, have posters and flyers made, handle PR, liase with the media, organise catering, _and_ make sure people show up. And you want all of this done in two days?"

"We were hoping for something a little more low key" said Jen carefully.

Lyndi Crawshaw turned cold eyes on her.

"There is nothing _low key_ about a reading for an author like Tim" she said acerbically. "I don't know how much you know about publishing but the objective here is to sell the book."

"The objective here is to catch a _murderer_" Gibbs said irately, looming over her.

The publisher batted her eyelids twice and stood from her seat.

"I'll see what I can do" she said coolly. "And just for the record, Agent Gibbs – you don't intimidate me. You may have a _murderer_ to catch, but I have an _author_ to promote. Tim hasn't published a book in over two years. The buzz from this is going to be tremendous. The fans are going to be climbing the walls. I take it you actually _have _something for me, Tim?"

"I will" he said, determined to follow through. "Soon."

"Lets go through this one more time then" she said, pulling out her PDA and sitting at the conference table. "You're writing a collection of twelve Christmas stories."

"Yes" McGee said. "Based on the _Twelve Days of Christmas_ carol."

"Featuring LJ Tibbs?"

Lyndi couldn't resist looking over at Gibbs and smirking before turning her attention back to Tim.

"Yes. Twelve standalone stories."

"And you're basing these stories off _prompts_ that this woman you're after has been providing?"

"For the most part."

The publisher put down her stylus.

"I like it" she said. "We need to push that aspect. The author has been listening to his fans. It will go down well. Perhaps we need to set up a blog."

She called her assistant and barked out a few orders before turning her attention back to the matter at hand.

"Does Tibbs have a love interest in these stories?" she asked suddenly. "The fans have been asking. And I mean a _serious_ love interest. We need something a bit more intense than a grope in some dark alley with a nameless redhead who drives a convertible. Maybe it's time he broke that rule of his about not dating people he meets on the job."

"It's not going to get that far" Vance intervened when he saw McGee change colour. "We fully expect this woman to show up for the reading. We fully expect to intercept her. The only thing McGee is required to do is write the first story and read it to the people in attendance."

"Lets get one thing straight" Lyndi Crawshaw said as she rose from the table and tucked her PDA into her bag. "I will organise this reading, and I will help in any way I can. But at the end of all of this, Thom E. Gemcity _will _give me a collection of short stories."

She looked pointedly at Tim.

"Take it or leave it."

Tim looked for support from Jen. She didn't answer, but she did move closer to him.

"I'll take it" he said the moment she laid her hand on his arm and applied gentle pressure.

"Good" Crawshaw said. "I will expect the first draft by morning. As well as a working title. We'll talk about the rest when I have both on my desk."

"Tony's gonna kill me" McGee groaned as soon as the door closed behind her.

"It isn't Tony I'd be worrying about" Vance said with a grin, his gaze following Gibbs' retreating form. "Good luck. And McGee .."

"Sir?"

"Try and think up an _original_ name for me."

_____________________________________________________________

"How's it going?" Jen asked as she stepped up behind McGee a few hours later.

The young agent ran a hand across his face.

"Not good" he said. "I don't think I can do this."

"You can" she said gently. "You just have to get past the block of consciously using Gibbs as a role model."

McGee looked over to where Gibbs was standing.

"How am I supposed to write a love interest for him?" McGee whispered. "He's a very private person."

"With passions that probably run very deep" Jen suggested, settling onto the stool next to him as she had earlier on in the day. "He obviously has a code of conduct for life – possibly instilled in him early on. Either by his parents, or a mentor, or someone he was deeply emotionally involved with or left a lasting impression. He's had tragedy in his life. Been married several times, if I'm not mistaken. He isn't a friend of technology, but neither is he as removed from it as he makes himself out to be. He has high standards – and expects a lot of himself and everyone else. He's charming in an extremely understated way. Intensely loyal. Dry sense of humour. He uses his marine training to give him an advantage over other people. He probably speaks more than one language. He's .."

"Did you just profile Gibbs, Dr. Shepard?" McGee asked with an amused smile as he scrambled to take notes.

Jen smiled but didn't answer the question. She had picked up a lot more about Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Darker things. Things that weren't meant to be shared with his underlings.

"Focus on what you admire the most about him" she said with a gentle smile. "And then take what you need to make the story work."

She listened as McGee told her what he was thinking of.

"That could work" she said. "But I think you may want to put in a lot more detail about what actually happened to Mr. Partridge. Have Metro sent their final report?"

McGee nodded.

"How was the response on the forum?" she asked.

"Good. Actually very good" he replied. "The thread got over 900 views in a few hours. Of course some of those could be repeat views. Abby's working on the breakdown."

"It went down well then .." she said, feeling the first bit of satisfaction since this began.

"Yes. People responded well to the rumour that Gemcity was going to be holding a reading of the first chapter of his new book on Twelfth Night."

"I know you're relieved about it, but I'm concerned about the fact that you haven't received anything yet. It's getting late" Jen said, looking at her watch.

"Maybe she really has deviated from the norm and isn't going to send anything else. Perhaps she gave me her ultimatum, and is waiting to see what I do next?" McGee suggested.

"Perhaps" Jen said. But she wasn't convinced. "Well .. she should have seen the thread by now."

She sensed Gibbs approach.

"Time to call it a night?" he asked simply. She suspected he'd seen her check the time.

"I need to work on _this_, Boss" McGee said, covering his notes as unobtrusively as he could.

"Okay. You stay. The rest of you .. pack it in. Go home. Get some sleep. Be back here are 0700 unless I call you in before that. It's going to be a long two days till the reading." His eyes turned onto Jen. "You about ready to go?"

________________________________________________________

"What do you think of McGee's publisher?" she asked an hour later as they shared take out near the boat.

Gibbs looked unimpressed.

"Thought so" she said with a grin, as she moved to clear the boxes and trash them. "McGee told me about the letters she penned to make things more .. interesting a few years back."

Gibbs merely grunted as he pitched in.

"So .. where am I sleeping?" she asked when they were done.

"Wherever you like. Got a room, a spare room, and last night's couch. Pick one."

"Spare room sounds like a good idea" she said softly.

Gibbs nodded and started up the stairs.

"See you in the morning?" she asked as she leaned against the door frame of the guest room a few moments later.

"Yup."

"Jethro ..." she began carefully, fingering her sweater

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for ..."

"Welcome" he said - effectively cutting her off.

"Night."

"Night."

But he didn't move. And she didn't close the door.

Gibbs traced her cheek with his fingers as he had the night before. And again she nuzzled against his palm.

"What I was _going to say_" she said, moving a little bit closer, "was thank you for last night."

"You're welcome for that too" he replied, not bothering to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about.

She moved forward to kiss him on the cheek, but he placed a hand very firmly over hers and stopped her; turning her face slightly towards him until her mouth slid over his. The kiss was soft. And gentle. Speaking of things that lurked on the horizon. But that only lasted until the moment she pulled his bottom lip inbetween hers and nibbled on it gently. Gibbs leaned back momentarily and looked at her. Her mouth was open slightly in a smile that could only be described as seductive, and the invitation quickly became too hard to ignore. Or resist.

He had just lowered his mouth back onto hers when a small voice echoed in the corridor.

"Gibbs ..."

"Abby?"

She stood there looking pale.

"I found these on my doorstep" she said, holding up nine black roses and a card.

"What does it say?" Jen asked, moving to relieve her of the card.

"_Tell him he's entrancing_."

Abby moved into the security of Gibbs' embrace.

"Can I stay with you tonight? "


	8. Chapter 8

"_Tell him he's _entrancing?" Dennis asked as he drank coffee in the lab the following morning.

"And nine black roses."

"Is she into that kind of thing?" he asked as he looked over to where the goth stood – a few inches shy of Gibbs.

"She sleeps in a coffin" Jenny whispered.

Dennis smiled.

"_Not_ going there" he said as they shared a smile. "Oh, and before I forget .. Pip's back."

Jen's eyes cut to his.

"Why?"

"Missed you too much, I think. St. Lucia wasn't any fun without you. Look, I know this is none of my business, but are you sure this is healthy Jen?"

"Probably not, but I don't know how to break the news. What am I supposed to say? You're too devoted ... take a hike?"

Dennis shrugged.

"And anyway" she said with a slight nudge, "it isn't as though you -"

Dennis put his hand over her mouth.

"Don't even think about it" he warned. "It's not the same and you know it. Frances and I are not you and Pip."

"I know."

"So ... this _tell him he's entrancing_ business?"

"I'd say it's a given that she's seen the thread McGee started. In the novels, Agent McGregor has quite the crush on Amy Sutton. I think we can assume she knows that the novels are based on real life people that McGee interacts with on a daily basis."

"So .. reward or threat?"

"Bit of both maybe?" Jen said as she stood from her seat. "Considering she left them on her doorstep."

"She's making it clear she knows where she lives" Dennis mused. "Think she's in any real danger?"

Jen shook her head.

"I don't think so either" Dennis added. "If she's as meticulous as we think she is, then she's had this set up for a long time. She could have gone after Abby a long time ago."

"Right" Jen said. "Thanks for coming in, Dennis. Appreciate it."

"Thanks for asking me in" he said with a grateful smile. "I was sorely tempted to put superglue on Medusa's office chair yesterday - just to keep her from looking over my shoulder. I swear she's needs to take early retirement."

"That'll be the day" she said, laughing out loud as the image of their boss with a chair hanging off her rear end flashed across her mind.

She looked up to find Gibbs watching her, and she made her way over to him.

"Thanks for the coffee" she whispered. "How's she holding up?"

Gibbs was about to answer when Tony's voice reverberated in the lab.

"Whatcha got there, McScribbler?" he asked, crowding McGee at the copier just as a sheet of paper appeared in it.

"Tony ... don't."

McGee tried to make a grab for it, but Tony held it aloft and made his way to the middle of the lab.

"Seniority, probie. Besides, anyone would think you didn't want to share ..."

He cleared his throat dramatically and waved the paper about to get everyone's attention.

"**Tibbs walked back into HQ, coffee cup in hand" **he began, deepening his voice for effect.** "It was just after two o'clock in the morning and he knew she was working late. The woman mainlined caffeine as obsessively as he did, and he found himself hoping against hope that she'd be grateful that he'd braved the late night Starbucks crowd on 24th and H just for her. Just the thought of _how_ grateful she might be made his body tighten. As he rode up the elevator he was assaulted by visuals of the beautiful detective doing a slow striptease for him in the semi-darkness. He'd often wondered whether she wore underwear beneath her work suits, and tonight he was determined to find out. **

"**I come bearing gifts" he said as he stepped into her office.**

"**LJ" she drawled rising from her seat, and moving towards him. She took the coffee from him and placed it on the desk behind her. "Nice of you to bring me coffee, but I think we both know that I'm more interested in the other gift."**

**There was nothing tentative about the way she reached out and ran a strong hand across his crotch, and Tibbs felt the pressure from her nails send a surge of electricity through him. He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes as she circled him slowly and came to stand behind him. She pressed herself against his back and he thought he'd died and gone to heaven when her hands snuck under his jacket and came around to his belt buckle. He bit his lower lip as she undid the belt and relieved him of it. As she unzipped his pants and slipped her hand into them his head fell backwards. For a moment he thought he might be going insane. She had barely touched him and he was already on the edge. Too many nights fantasising about her, he thought. But those thoughts flew from him mind when she cupped him.**

"**I've waited for this a long time" she said – relinquishing her grip on him after a few strokes. **

**Tibbs turned to face her slowly. It was impossible not to touch himself as she stood before him and undid the buttons on her blouse. One by one. Slowly. Torturing him with her smile and the look in her eyes as her clothes fell to the floor. His mouth went completely dry when he realised that he'd been right. She didn't wear underwear of any kind.**

"**I take it you like what you see?" **

"**Unpin your hair" he said hoarsely – and then stared as the hair he'd dreamt about unleashing tumbled down around her bare shoulders. **

**He took a step towards her and lifted the the thick blonde locks to his face. Letting the scent of white musk flood his senses.**

"**I want you" he murmured as his fingers trailed down a shoulder.**

"**I know" she said, pushing herself against him. **

**Offering herself up to greedy hands that roamed all over her body. He was so lost in exploring her bare skin that he didn't realise she'd divested him of his clothes until he was standing naked before her.**

"**God, Astrid" he said as he raised her thigh alongside his and pushed himself into her. "You're so tight .."**

"**Make love to me LJ. Make love to me like you've never made love to a woman ..."**

"Tony!"

Ziva elbowed him in the ribs when he didn't respond the first three times she called his name.

Tony looked up at his audience and took in the looks of muted horror all around him. It took him a moment to register where he was. And when he did he slapped the paper against McGee's chest.

"You're on your own" he hissed.

"I didn't write that" McGee said slowly, not daring to look at Gibbs.

"So who did?" Tony said.

"She did" McGee said, handing the paper over to Jen. "It came in via email. Look at the _subject_."

"_He goes a-creeping_" Dennis read over her shoulder as she reached for her glasses. "Five syllables. Her play on _ten lords a-leaping._"

"If she sent you an email then we should be able to trace it back to her" Abby said suddenly, turning to her computer.

"Already tried. I don't know what the hell she's doing but I came up against every brick wall imaginable" McGee admitted.

"How long ago did this come in?" Dennis asked incredulously.

"An hour" McGee said sheepishly.

"You've been sitting on this for an hour?" Gibbs thundered.

McGee blushed.

"I didn't know how to ..."

"You gotta admit, Boss .. it was kinda hot" Tony said.  
"Tibbs in the office .. breaking rule number twelve .. having torrid sex with the stuff his dreams are of. Shutting up now .."

"Just _now_, Di Nozzo?" Gibbs replied with a roll of his eyes.

Jen looked up as Gibbs took the paper from her. He squinted at it for a while, and then took her glasses and put them on.

"What is it?" she asked, watching him scan the text till he found what he was looking for.

"This .." he pointed out. "This is where I got coffee the other night. And the time fits too."

Her eyes widened as she turned round to Dennis

"We've been going about this all wrong. It isn't McGee she's obsessed with. It's Tibbs."

"Do you think this is a _Mary Sue_?"

"I hate _Mary Sues_" Abby groaned from the other end of the room.

"What the hell is a _Mary Sue_?" Gibbs wanted to know, his patience sorely tested.

"Jen ran a hand through her hair as she spoke.

"A major role in a story where a character is idealised. Primarily it's wish fulfillment on the part of the author. The character has a distinct lack of-"

"So you're saying that that's ... _her_?_ I_n the sex scene?" Tony asked slowly. "She wants to have office sex with Tibbs?"

"It would make sense" McGee said. "Tibbs favours redheads. This Astrid character is a blonde. It could make her a blonde."

"She wants to be McGee's muse so that she can influence what happens to Tibbs" Dennis said. "Tibbs needs to learn that his future lies with blondes, not redheads."

Jen shook her head.

"Maybe she's not sure what the difference is anymore. We really should have seen this a long time ago, Dennis. If she knows where he got his coffee at two a.m. she must be focusing on the real thing, and that can only mean tha-"

"She wants to have sex with _Gibbs_?" Tony interrupted.

"That her boundaries are blurring. But yes ... she is most likely fantasising about Gibbs. Which might be why she sent the roses and the note to Abby. It's all there in the novels. Tibbs has a very particular relationship with Amy Sutton. A paternal one. She's his favourite."

"Did you know that there are _Tamy_ shippers?" Abby piped up.

"What?" Gibbs asked, looking from one woman to the other.

"I know, I know. It would be like incest. Oh .. you don't know what _Tamy_ stands for." Abby rolled her eyes. "The T stands for Tibbs and the rest stands for ... well ... Amy. Tibbs and Amy. _Tamy_. And it's wrong I tell you. Wrong."

"So Tommy and Lisa would be .. Tisa? Tosa? " Tony asked.

He stopped the moment Gibbs' hand connected with the back of his head.

"I should have thought of this last night" Jen carried on, oblivious to all of them. "That's why she sent the roses and rhyme to Abby. She knows McGee bases his work on the people around him. If Tibbs has a soft spot for Amy in the stories then in her head Gibbs must have a soft spot for Abby."

"Well she _is_ the favourite" Tony whined.

"Do you think think she's jealous? Because she thinks Gibbs loves me?" Abby asked.

"Not. She wants to be Gibbs' woman. She wants you on her side. She's currying favour. And she knew that if you felt the least bit threatened there's only one place you would go."

"To Gibbs' house."

"Exactly. The message was intended for Gibbs, because it's Gibbs she finds _entrancing_. And she knew you'd get it to him."

"She might even think that McGee writing things means they will happen" Dennis offered, exhaling deeply.

"So .. what? She sent him a teaser?" Tony asked.

"Why me?" Gibbs asked suddenly.

Something in the way he asked the question attracted Jen's attention. But she put it aside for the moment, and exchanged a look with Dennis.

"In all probability she has difficulties with men" he said. "She's probably been fantasising about fictional figures for years – because they can't disappoint her. I think we're looking for someone who didn't have a strong father figure, or didn't have a father figure at all."

"So all this other stuff ..." Gibbs asked, and Jen couldn't help but notice the way he was crushing his empty coffee cup in his hand.

"Is _hawt_" Tony said, regretting the words the moment they left his mouth.

He braced himself for the headslap. But it didn't come. Instead Gibbs tossed the remains of his coffee cup into the trash can and walked out of the lab.

Jen slipped into the elevator with him just as the doors were sliding closed.

"What's upsetting you?" she asked as she flipped the switch and brought the elevator to a shuddering halt.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her.

"If you have to ask .."

"No, I mean what's _really_ upsetting you?"

When Gibbs didn't answer she hazarded her opinion.

"It turned you on, didn't it? _That's_ what's upsetting you .."

Gibbs looked away.

"Jethro ... we've spent the past few days circling each other. In close physical proximity. Last night we .. we'd just started to get intimate when Abby showed up. I don't think either one of us has any doubt where things were going."

"So you're saying -"

"I'm saying that it's okay to have a reaction. In strict biological terms you were deprived last night. Only to realise this morning that a woman had been fantasising about you in very graphic terms. You think Tony wasn't turned on reading that? Or McGee? Sure they were. And it wasn't even about _them. _It's basic human drive, Jethro. Even _I_ was turned on."

She touched him gently on the arm.

"You need to work out what will help you get past this. What it is you _need_ to make it through."

"What I _need_ is to catch this woman, Jen" he said gruffly, "and to find Melanie Murphy."

Jen nodded and made to flip the switch again.

"Jenny .."

She turned back to find him standing in her personal space.

"Need this too" he said, just before his mouth closed over hers.


	9. Chapter 9

"You know we could write our own" Tony said suggestively, waggling his eyebrows. "Help McGee out. Agents Tommy and Lisa. One floor below. At the same time as Tibbs and Astrid. In a storage closet? Or maybe in the evidence garage?"

Ziva sighed.

"Maybe it's about time, I just - give in."

Tony straightened up a little.

"And by _give in_, you mean?"

"Letting loose. Doing what comes naturally to me."

"Yeah I thought I was picking up that vibe the first time we went undercover together."

"You were. In fact I almost did it the first night in the hotel."

"Um, really?

"But my father wouldn't approve."

"Because I'm not .. Jewish."

"Because he gets very angry when I KILL a coworker! And you are walking the path, Tony."

"But this is killing me" Tony whined as he looked back at the paper in his hands.

"If you do not shut up Tony, _I_ will be the one killing you" Ziva said.

"What runs through your veins Zee-vah? It can't be blood because this is sizzling."

Ziva rose from her desk and plucked the piece of paper from his hands.

"This ends right now."

"Hey!" Tony said, lunging for it as she tried to tear it up.

"It is _porn._ Very very _bad_ porn."

"You obviously have not watched or read any porn if you think this is porn."

"I have a life, Tony" she said as she rolled her eyes. "And I will not sit here any longer and listen to you read that .. _thing_ one more time."

"But aren't you even the least bit curious?"

Ziva shook her head as she walked back to her desk.

"It is a piece of _fiction_, Tony."

"Doesn't mean she couldn't be right."

"She is fantasising."

"And I'm asking you to do the same. I want the woman's perspective."

"I am _not_ fantasising about Gibbs. And I can _not_ see Gibbs behaving like Tibbs. Nor can I see him saying the things he says in .. _this_."

"You can't _see him saying things like this?_ You _have_ been fantasising about Gibbs."

Ziva rolled her eyes.

"What I mean is that Tibbs is passive here. I do not imagine Gibbs to be passive in bed."

Tony looked at the paper.

"Tibbs is not _passive_" he said indignantly. "Astrid is being ... _forward_. She's reacting to his .. his ... obvious virility."

"Oh please .." Ziva said, covering her eyes.

"So how do you think he likes it?" Tony persisted.

Ziva wagged her index finger once.

"We are not discussing what Gibbs may or may not like doing when he is with a woman."

"Why not?"

"Becuase it is a violation of his privacy."

"It's never stopped us speculating about McGee's sex life."

"True."

"So you don't think Gibbs would respond to something like this _make love to me like you've never made love to a woman_?"

"Would you?"

"We are not talking about me, Zee-vah."

"You can delude yourself if you so wish. It is very clear to me that you are using this as your yardstick, knowing that Gibbs was the role model. You may have slept with women who flattered you that way. Gibbs would never find himself in that kind of a situation."

"You think Gibbs wouldn't have spur-of-the-moment hot monkey sex?"

"Which part of _we are not discussing Gibbs' sex life_ did you not get" Ziva asked in frustration.

"Do you think he's more stoic than Tibbs?"

Ziva growled and held up a paperclip.

"Eighteen different ways, Tony" she threatened.

"So you think he likes to be in control all the time ..."

Ziva picked up the phone and dialled a number, keeping her eyes on him at all times – a smile playing on her lips.

"I'll see you in five minutes" she said sweetly.

"You're going to lunch?" he asked as she rose from her chair and grabbed her bag and coat.

"Yes" she said. "I am going to give you something else to think about. Something which is not as annoying as your sexual insecurities but will give you many hours of fantasising pleasure."

"Pray tell .."

"I'm having lunch with Hannah."

___________________________________________________________

"Mmmm .."

Gibbs smiled as the woman lying on her stomach beside him reacted to the feel of his hand trailing up her thigh and rounding her back. He replaced his hands with his mouth and she moaned against the pillow.

"Not done here" he whispered, stopping her as she tried to roll over onto her back.

Jen felt him press soft kisses to her shoulder blades before laving the area between them and then moving to nibble the base of her neck. When she made no more efforts to turn over, he angled her slightly. She heard him whisper something into her ear that she couldn't make out, because the sensation of callused hands sliding onto her hips and pulling her back against him obliterated everything else. He caressed her stomach as he pressed his lips to the side of her neck. But this time he dragged them up and down, leaving a trail of moisture behind. Instinctively she pushed back, her body pressing into him in a way that encouraged the hand at her waist to meander its way upwards. She gasped softly as it traversed her breasts before cupping one firmly and raising a nipple from the landscape.

"Jeth ..."

She turned her head towards him, looking for something, anything, to latch onto – but he didn't give her the leverage she needed to be able to kiss him properly. She sucked in a breath as his hand moved again; insinuating itself between her legs. Spreading her. Gyrating around her clit and keeping her firmly in place. It took her a moment to realise that the lips at her neck and the fingers wreaking havoc on her senses were keeping the same rhythm; but as those fingers made the internal pressure rise a notch she let go of that thought as well.

"That feel good?" he asked as her head fell back against him.

"Mmhmm .." she responded. "But I know what would be better ..."

Gibbs lowered his ear to her mouth and smirked against her cheek a few moments later. He flipped her back onto her stomach and stretched himself over her for a second – his lips finding a spot he'd discovered to be sensitive during their lovemaking the night before. She purred as he rubbed against her, and he was still nibbling at her jaw when he pulled her up onto her knees and slipped into her from behind. He wasn't sure whether it was the sounds she was making as he made a few lazy thrusts, or whether it was the inherent tightness, but it wasn't long before he felt his control being compromised. He withdrew far enough to apply pressure to his base, and dropped his face into the crook of her neck – seeking diversion amidst the reprieve. But Jen reached round for his hand and pulled it where she wanted it. Forcing their bodies back into their snug fit. She splayed her hand over his; guiding it, making it do her bidding.

"Jenny .." Gibbs moaned against her skin, the pressure within increasing exponentially as he felt the first flutterings of her contractions around him.

Her only response was to push herself back against him a little more forcefully – leaving him no choice but to grip her hips roughly and bring them both over the edge in a carnal blaze of ferocity and heat.

He lowered them both and turned her over gently. He pushed her hair out of her face; nuzzling her cheek with his nose before lowering his mouth to hers and kissing her. Jen raised a hand to his face and stroked his cheek when he lifted his head and looked at her. She opened her mouth to speak but Gibbs placed a finger on her lips and shook his head. He smiled and turned her back onto her side. He pulled the covers up over both of them, and spooned up behind her. He dropped a kiss to the side of her neck before tracing the lines of a square inbetween her shoulder blades.

"This mean anything?" he asked after a moment.

Jen drew a deep breath.

"My failures" she said slowly, surprised he had drawn it from her. She'd always lied to men before. "Losses on the job. People I failed to save."

"What's the heart?" he asked, pressing his lips to it.

Jen took a deep breath.

"Caroline Whidbey's nephew."

Gibbs tightened his hold on her and drew her closer. Was surprised when she turned in his arms and buried her face in his chest.

"Jenny ..."

"Just hold me" she said.

The stillness of the moment was shattered by his cell phone going off. Only disengaging himself slightly, he reached over and picked it off the bedside table.

"Yeah .. Gibbs."

He sat up as he listened, his face turning serious.

"What is it?" Jenny asked when he snapped his phone shut.

"Metro PD's found Melanie Murphy."


	10. Chapter 10

"McGee, you are wearing a hole in the floor" Ziva pointed out.

But it didn't stop McGee from pacing in the lab; worried sick about what Gibbs' reaction was going to be. Tony heard the elevator doors open and let out a chuckle.

"He's here, probie. You are _so dead_. Hey Boss ..."

"Boss ..." Tim began as Gibbs sauntered into the room.

"Soooo ... you decided it was more important for an NCIS Special Agent to sit around and play with words than obey a direct order from his boss to go home and get some rest?"

"Man asked you a question" Tony said, coming to stand behind Gibbs.

"Why, uh, no" McGee spluttered. "I uh .. I just .. it was something Dr. Shepard and Dr. Crenshaw said, and I .."

"You have any idea where thinking like this is gonna lead you?"

"Yeah. Do you, McGee?" Tony added.

"Promotion" Gibbs finished with a smirk, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Anyone care to fill me in about what the hell is going on here?" an irate voice said from the doorway.

"Er ... Director" McGee spluttered.

"Being woken up by the chief over at Metro at three o'clock in the morning to be told that _they've_ got a lead based on something someone in _my_ agency did is not my working definition of being kept in the loop" Vance said as he circled McGee. "Don't smile" he shot at Gibbs without even looking at him.

He stopped in front of the young agent and stared right at him.

"Are you waiting for an invitation, Agent McGee?"

"Er no. Sir" Tim added hastily. "Doctor .. uh .. Crenshaw postulated that me writing things made things real for .. the fan. So I .. uh ... wrote."

"Wrote _what_, exactly?"

McGee shifted from one foot to another until Abby came to his rescue.

"McGee wrote something called a oneshot and posted it on fanfiction dot net" she explained.

"What was in this .. oneshot?"

Abby nudged McGee.

"Well in the story Tibbs is heavily involved with Detective Astrid" McGee began self-consciously.

"Go on" Vance encouraged, his face breaking into a smile despite all his intentions to the contrary.

"Okay .. so Astrid is taken by someone who they are only able to identify only as _einalem_**.**

"That's Melanie, _backwards_" Abby contributed enthusiastically. Backing off when Vance narrowed his eyes at her.

"Astrid is kept in a basement" McGee continued. "Through the help of the FBI they come to realise that Astrid has been taken because the kidnapper wants Tibbs for herself."

"I thought Astrid was the persona the fan created for herself .." Vance said, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"She is but ... bear with me okay?"

Vance nodded.

"They find a way to communicate with her, and Tibbs .."

"In true Messianic form" interjected Tony, only to be slapped upside the head.

"Tibbs offers himself up to her in return for Astrid's release" McGee carried on. " and a few hours later Astrid is found in the Starbucks on 24th and H street in DC. Tibbs honours his side of the bargain and goes - alone and unarmed - to meet the kidnapper. When they meet here is an immediate flare of chemistry between the two of them. And then .. um ..."

When he faltered slightly Abby took up the narrative with uninihibited enthusiasm.

"Tibbs is visibly taken with her. They have this great sex in an abandoned warehouse, and then she decides they need to cut their palms and become blood partners. Tibbs pledges his undying devotion, and mails in his badge from a local mailbox before they drive off into the sunset together."

"And people actually read it .." said Tony, when Vance stared at both McGee and Abby in disbelief.

"It got eighty-seven reviews" Abby said as she pulled the story up on her screen.

Vance peered closely, and his eyes widened as he read some of the reviews out loud.

"_I freakin' love this fic; This is the best story I've ever read; Tibbs is so *** hot; Can we have a sequel where Astrid fights Melanie for Tibbs; An amazing story; You've totally nailed the characters; Can you write another one where Tibbs misses his old life – more specifically Agent Tommy; This is just ... gah ... amazing."_

"And this led to the recovery of Melanie Murphy _how_?"

"Well ..." McGee said as leaned over and scrolled the page down. "About five hours after the story went live this review was posted. _Because you've been typing_. Quantico's theory is that she believes that my writing something makes it real."

"So, to be clear, what you're saying is that you tried to put into her head that she should let Melanie Murphy go .. and that it worked."

McGee nodded.

"And the reason you didn't inform either myself or .. I take it ... Agent Gibbs .. about this?"

McGee's face reddened.

"I thought it was a long shot" he admitted.

"Was it still a long shot when you found the clue?"

McGee hesitated for a moment.

"It was two o'clock in the morning, Sir. And yes."

"That why you contacted Detective Whidbey instead of going yourself?"

"Dr. Crenshaw felt that under the circumstances it would be better if nobody from NCIS was involved in the recovery."

"Better for who, McGee?"

"Better for Melanie Murphy. And there was no guarantee that she would be at the Starbucks in the story."

Vance accepted the answer with a tight nod.

"Where is she now?"

"Well they found her sitting by a window. She was dazed, but unharmed. Dr. Crenshaw was there when they found her."

"Not what I asked."

"Pending psychiatric evaluation."

"Dr. Shepard?"

"Waiting to interview her as soon as the psychiatrist okays it."

"Dr. Crenshaw?"

"Gone back to Quantico."

"Any luck tracing the review back to its owner?"

McGee shook his head.

"Keep trying" the Director said as he turned on his heel.

He paused at the door, and his eyes swept the room.

"Good job, McGee" was the last thing he said before he disappeared.

________________________________________________________________

"How is she?" McGee asked when Jen walked into the lab a few hours later.

"Considering she was tied up in a basement for a few days, pretty good. It's too early for her to manifest any real symptoms though. She wasn't treated badly in conventional terms. She was given good food, allowed to use the facilities with dignity, kept warm."

"We get a description of her?" Gibbs asked, handing the coffee he'd been drinking over without being asked to.

Jen shook her head.

"Any time they were in close proximity they were in total darkness. When she was taken upstairs to use the facilities she was blindfolded."

"You get anything from her?"

"Apart from the fact that she has a sqeaky voice and that she's obsessed with you ... not really. _But_ one thing she _is_ sure about is that her release was a gesture of goodwill. Just as Astrid's was in McGee's story."

"You showed it to her?" McGee asked incredulously.

"I didn't have to. She had it practically committed to memory. Apparently she had it read out loud to her from the moment it went online till the moment she was left sitting in Starbucks. She told her that she knew Gemcity wouldn't let her down. That this meant that she was officially his muse."

Gibbs observed Jen closely and his eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to figure out what she was holding back.

"What else?"

Jen gave him a wry grin.

"She also believes that you will be at the reading. That you'll see her and ... recognise the error of your ways."

"The error of my ways?"

"The blonde versus redhead thing, Boss" Tony clarified.

Jen nodded.

"I am probably totally off base here" McGee started tentatively, "but if she's been watching Gibbs for the past few days, then she's seen him with ... you. Does that put you in any kind of danger?"

Jen smiled and acknowledged the concern with a small smile.

"Apparently I was the catalyst for a tantrum or two over the past few days. But I'm not worried about that. It's not me she wants. It's Gibbs."

"That mean I have to be at this shindig?" Gibbs asked.

"Afraid so" Jen said. "Although Dennis and I feel that perhaps it would make sense for all of you to be there."

"In a professional capacity?" Ziva asked.

"We think it makes more sense for McGee to introduce his inspiration to the world. Although the novels chornicle the adventures of LJ Tibbs, Amy Sutton, and Agents Tommy and Lisa, Pimmy Jalmer, and a host of other characters populate the pages too. It will bring the fans out in droves, and she might feel more secure about making an appearance. Social appearances are not her forte."

"So this has just become a red carpet event" Tony said, strightening his tie.

"It will be as soon as McGee calls his publisher" Jen said, indicating to him that he needed to get on the phone with Lyndi Crawshaw.

"She's going to blow a gasket" he mumbled as he pulled out his cell.

"Remind her of the extra revenue" Gibbs said.

He turned back to Jen.

"And you're sure she'll come to this thing?"

"If she's sure you're going to be there ... yes."

Tony looked eagerly at McGee when the latter put his phone back into his pocket.

"Limo will be here at six pm" he said.

"A stretch limo?" Abby asked. "Like the one we used when we went to that club?"

"The very same" he replied, enjoying the way her face lit up – even if he wished the circumstances were different.

"Do we get to be sex kittens again?" she wanted to know, sidling up to Ziva and sporting a wide grin

McGee's eyes cut to Jen for guidance.

"You need to reflect your characters. Tailored suit for Tony. Something kickass for Ziva. Bowtie for Ducky. Abby can go to town. And Jethro ... your black trenchcoat."


	11. Chapter 11

Ziva straightened Tony's tie.

"So?" he asked as she patted his face and settled back into her seat to observe her handiwork.

"So _what_?"

"Dennis said it was probably going to be a jungle out there. Think they'll scream?"

He peered through the tinted windows of the limo.

"When they see McGee."

"There are going to be a lot of young girls out there."

"Who are going to be fawning over Gibbs" Ziva added. "Because young girls want an older man."

"Come on ..." Tony said as he touched his lapels. "I don't know if you know this, but Agent Tommy has quite a following. I found this one website where -"

"I, too, found a website, Tony."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes" she said slowly as she leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "It was dedicated to you and Kurt."

"Kurt the ..."

"Oh yes."

"McGee ..."

"Don't look at me" Tim said. "I didn't write that into the books. Didn't even come close. Fans see what they want to see, and then they project. _That_ came out of the fans' imagination."

"What's _on_ this website?" Tony demanded, his eyes narrowing. "What's with me and Kurt?"

"You use him for relief when Agent Tibbs isn't available."

Tony's eyes widened.

"I saw that website too" Abby said enthusiastically. "They have the coolest creative role plays. Although, now that I think of it you're a slob for the most part. In one of them, you didn't clean up after yourself, and Amy discovers just why the mechanism in Kurt has stopped working. Not pretty."

She cuddled Bert to her.

"I swear ... if you ever go near him I will _boil_ you from the inside out. And not even Gibbs will be able to find your remains."

"Excuse me ..." Tony said indignantly. "Aren't we forgetting that I am _not_ Agent Tommy."

"And yet you want the nubile delicacies to get their panties in a twist at the sight of you" Ziva said.

"Well it isn't the nubile delicacies that are writing this stuff. Is it?" he added a moment later when Ziva and Abby looked at each other and smiled.

"The slash community is very largely populated by women."

"Oh, and did you check the blog today?" Abby asked innocently.

"No. Should I have?"

"Apparently there's a group of shippers called _McGisaloversunited _who_ -_"

Tony looked at McGee and Ziva.

"McGregor and Lisa? Not gonna happen" he scoffed.

"They exist, Tony. _And_ they are planning to pelt you with rotten eggs tonight. For not letting the romance between Lisa and McGregor develop."

"People _like me_ ..."

"When you feel good about yourself take a look on the internet" McGee said with a cheerful smile. "Agent Tommy ranks number 8 on the list of _most-hated characters_ in contemporary crime fiction."

"They've never even seen me" Di Nozzo protested. "How can they hate me?"

"Breathe Tony" Ziva placated. "None of this is real. We are playing a part."

"You wouldn't let them hurt me, would you Boss? I'm your faithful St. Bernard. Your sidekick."

Gibbs merely rolled his eyes.

"I'd just accept the fact that the women are going to be throwing themselves at Gibbs" Ziva said.

"There's a lot to be said for young girls being involved with older men" said Abby.

"Yeah" Tony said a trifle bitterly. "If they get too chatty you can hide their teeth. Um .. not that you're too chatty, Boss. Or that you have false teeth. Or even that you're old-er. Or - .."

"I'd quit while you're behind, Di Nozzo" Gibbs said wryly – even if a quirky smile was playing across his lips.

He looked out the window.

"We there yet, McGee?"

"Almost" Tim said just as his cell phone went off.

"I .. uh .. I don't know. We hadn't really thought about it" he said into it. "Okay. We'll sort it out. We're almost there."

He pocketed the phone.

"Lyndi wants to know how the order we're coming out of the limo" he reported.

Gibbs nodded and touched his earwig briefly.

"Jenny? You there?"

"Here, Jethro" she replied from MTAC.

"Order of exit from the limo?"

"Tony first. Then Ziva. Then Abby. Then McGee. Then he should introduce you. It should be like an unveiling. He's introducing you to the world. Most of these people have seen Gemcity before. Now they get to see you. We should draw out the suspense as much as possible. Especially since we know she's waiting to see you up close and personal."

"Got it."

He relayed the information.

"Can Ziva, Bert, and I step out together?" Abby asked.

"Hear that Jen?"

"I did. And yes, I think that will be fine. Actually that's a good idea. Abby has no weapon. Not that I'm anticipating anything will happen, but perhaps it's better to cover all bases."

"We're here" McGee announced.

"Why can't Mcgee go first?" Tony whined.

"Because we're exiting in order of _importance_, Di Nozzo" Gibbs said irately as the car drew up to the kerb.

"Whoa!" Tony said as flashbulbs started going off in all directions the moment he put a foot out of the vehicle.

"To-mmy! To-mmy! To-mmy!" a group chanted from his left. "We love you Tommy!"

Tony raised his hand and acknowledged the screaming. A boot to his rear end had him stumbling forward, but he caught himself.

"Move" Abby hissed as she stepped out after him and then stretched a hand out of the car to help Ziva out.

A wave of screams rose from the right as the pair gave each other sultry looks, clasped hands and raised them into the air.

"Take one for the _Amisa_ team"Abby shouted as she pressed a kiss to Ziva's cheek.

"What are you doing?" Tony hissed from her side.

"Securing this niche for McGee" she whispered back. "There are huge internet discussions about whether Lisa and Amy are secretly involved. McGee needs to broaden his horizons, and we're .. helpi - "

She was cut off by the huge roar that went up the moment McGee made his appearance. Abby took the arm he was offering, and Tony stared for a moment before offering his to Ziva. The Israeli looked at him for a moment before turning on her heel and placed a hand on his other shoulder.

"You okay? he asked when she squirmed slightly.

"I don't know where your Sig is, but I'm having trouble walking."

McGee suppressed a smile before turning to the fans. The noise escalated to fever pitch the moment he indicated the door of the limo, but it was nothing compared to the way the crowd went wild the moment Gibbs stepped onto the carpet.

For a moment Gibbs felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Dennis had been right – it _was_ a jungle out here.

"Are you doing that thing with your head?" Jen asked softly into his ear.

"What thing?" he asked, resisting the urge to protect his ears from the cacophany all round him.

"You look down when someone compliments you" she replied. "McGee didn't use that for Tibbs. He drew on your other attributes. Tibbs doesn't look down and he doesn't get self-conscious. He's smart and devious. It's a powerful combination.

"You forgot charming."

"No, I didn't."

He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Eyes front, Jethro" she said, bringing him back to reality. "And no matter what happens, don't stop walking till you're inside. The people outside are the ones who didn't get tickets. She won't be among them. Acknowledge them and keep walking."

Gibbs gave a tight nod and complied.

__________________________________________

"I gotta write a book" Tony said to Gibbs an hour later when the reading was practically over and there hadn't been so much as a stir in the bookstore.

"You should read one first" Gibbs replied, his eyes travelling over the room.

"They're looking at him as though the sun shines out of his ass" Tony said with disbelief in his tone.

"It does tonight" Gibbs said with a small smile as Tim brought the reading to an end and the captive audience erupted into cheers.

"I'm sure we all agree that this is the most exciting installment yet" Lyndi Crawshaw said, as she stepped up to the front and placed a hand possessively on Tim's shoulder. "I think we may have a time for a few questions before we serve refreshments, Thom?"

"Of course"

Tim smiled as he took the envelopes handed to him by Lyndi's assistant.

"This one is from Alyson. She wants to know **D**_**oes Tibbs wears anything under his trenchcoat?**_ Yes. Yes he definitely does. He ... yes ... he wears underwear and um .. clothes. And um .. next question. From NickyK. _**My boyfriend is very taken with Tibbs' prowess. Will you be sharing more of his techniques in the future?**_ Um ... I hadn't really thought about it but .. I will keep that in mind. Next question. From Joonah. **What brand of bourbon does Tibbs drink? **He drinks _Maker's Mark_" he said as Jen gave him the answer through his earwig. "The next question comes from ME Wofford. _**Is there any chance you would consider writing a series that was exclusively about Agents Tommy and Lisa?**_ At this point I have no plans to write such a series ... but it's great to hear that people appreciate the other characters as well. The fifth question comes from Olivia. _**Is it true that you're in negotiations with a TV network to turn the books into a tv series?**_ No. There are no such plans at the moment. Sarah Jane wants to know _**How do your co-workers feel about your books?**_"

His eyes slid to Tony, but his publisher intervened before any one of the co-workers could say anything.

"They are, of course, very flattered" she said. "It's a great honour to be immortalised in fiction this way. And we all know that Thom has a big career ahead of him. I think maybe just one more question, Thom? Because I'm sure everyone is dying to get a chance to meet the people behind your characters."

Tim nodded and looked at the remaining ten envelopes in his hand. He picked one at random.

"This is from Jeanette. _**Tibbs seems to like redheads. Is there a reason for this, and are there any defining moments in his life as far as this love of redheads is concerned?**_"

He froze.

"Don't dismiss the question" Jen said softly into his ear when she realised that the silence was lasting too long. "Just tell them that part of the mystery surrounding Tibbs is not knowing what his background is. Tell them that they might learn more about him as you develop his character, but that you're not too concerned about laying bare his soul at this point in time."

McGee repeated what she'd told him, and only when he was done did he risk a look at Gibbs.

But Gibbs was looking elsewhere - his features hardened into a grimace; that softened slightly when Jen spoke to him.

"Jethro?"

"Yeah .. Jen .."

"Are you alright?"

He couldn't be sure she didn't know the details - but in some way the empathy radiating from her voice dulled the ache that gnawed at his heart as Shannon crossed his mind.

"Yeah."

____________________________________

"Dr. Shepard?"

"Yes?"

She looked in the direction of the tech that had spoken.

"A _Dr. Crenshaw_ from Quantico waiting to go live for you" he said, indicating the plasma.

"Dennis?" she said when his face lit up the screen.

"I think we've got something .." her colleague replied a little breathlessly.

"We got a call from the person handling the blog. The twelfth clue was just posted on there."

"What does it say?"

"_He'll be succumbing_."

"Have you traced it?"

"Working on it" Dennis said in frustration. "But if she's using a portable device we'll be hardpressed to identify her in the middle of all those people."

"Keep me post – "

She trailed off as the sounds of scuffling filled the air of MTAC.

"What's going on?"

"Someone just flashed the boss" Tony said, amusement in his voice. "A blonde. Ziva took her down."

"It's fine" McGee's voice came over the air. "Just a little demonstration of how we tackle someone to the ground."

People laughed as they went back to the business of mingling with the team, and Ziva bundled the offending blonde to one of the back rooms.

"Look ... she made me do it okay?"

"Who made you do it?"

"This _girl_. She gave me a hundred dollars and told me to flash Tibbs."

"Show me who she is" Ziva said, taking her by the arm a little roughly and propelling her back out.

The girl searched the room.

"She was wearing a beany" she said. "A purple one. I don't see her anywhere."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Owww ... you're hurting me."

"I need to see some ID" Ziva demanded.

The girl handed it over.

"Stella Barkhudarova" Ziva said to Jen. "Born July fourteenth, nineteen ninety-one. Resident of Maryland."

"Doesn't fit our profile. Let her go, Ziva. But keep an eye on her."

"Can I go now?" the girl spat. "I'd really like to try my chances with Agent Di Nozzo. God, he's sooo hot."

"I am sure he will enjoy hearing that" Ziva said disdainfully - releasing her suddenly and enjoying watching her stumble forward. "Shouldn't something have happened by now?" she asked Jen.

"What are the others doing?"

"Tony is chatting up jailbait, Abby is showing people what Bert can do, Gibbs and McGee are signing copies of _Deep Six _and _Rock Hollow_" Ziva replied, smiling at two young girls who stepped up to her shyly.

___________________________________________________________

"Boss ..." McGee began tentatively when there was a bit of a lull in the line.

But Gibbs shook his head. Almost a bit too vehemently, the younger agent thought.

"You okay, Boss?" he asked.

Not surprised when Gibbs muttered "Yeah", but not so sure he believed him.

He turned his attention back to the fans.

______________________________________

Jenny was rubbing her temples a half hour later, trying to keep the headache threatening to explode behind her eyes at bay. Too little sleep, too much caffeine she was thinking to herself when she heard her name being called.

"Jenny ..."

"Dennis .."

"We traced the blog post back to an Itouch registered to a Reggie P. Jumper. She claims it was in a handbag that was stolen on her way to work earlier today."

"Who does she work for?"

"She does temp work through a local recruiting agency."

"Who was she working for today?"

"Company called _Ridgewells_."

Jen sucked in a breath.

"That's the catering company Lyndi Crawshaw engaged for tonight's event. Did she call in sick?"

"Yes."

"Find someone at the recruiting agency. Have them fax over their records."

"They just arrived" Dennis said as he picked a few sheafs of paper from the fax machine.

"Any of the names look familiar?"

"No. But according to this, the next person on the list was a _Verity Baker_."

Jen could hear him tapping away at his keyboard. No doubt pulling up whatever records existed. A few seconds later she heard him exhale.

"Verity Baker worked at the gym the rings were stolen from for a few weeks" he said as he transmitted a screenshot of her driver's licence over to her. "It's her."

"We need to get that photo to the team's cell phones" she said to the tech closest to her.

As the man got to work she put on her headset again.

"Jethro .." she said. "I think we've got her. I'm sending over a photo of -"

"I thought we'd agreed you weren't coming" he replied.

The slight slur in his voice was all it took to alert her that something was wrong.

"Why are you here?"

"I"m not. Jethro, what's going on?"

Gibbs squinted and swayed to the side for a moment.

"You're standing right in front of me, Jen."

"Tony!" Jen called. "Something's not right."

"You can say that again" Di Nozzo replied slowly, as he edged closer to the situation that was unfolding in the centre of the room.

"Talk to me Tony" she said calmly.

"Female. Five foot one, maybe two. Slender. Red hair. Pulled back .. like yours actually. And she's wearing ... jeans and a green hooded sweater."

"Has she got a weapon?"

"No. She isn't a natural redhead."

"How do you know?"

"Because this is the second time she's standing in front of Gibbs. And last time she was a blonde. She handed him a book to sign about thirty-five minutes ago. It's her isn't it?"

"We believe so. You're in a room full of people, Tony. You need to get everyone out of there slowly. Without causing her to panic. How's Gibbs?"

"Not good" he said as he signalled Ziva to start an evacuation.

"Jethro .." she said tentatively. "Jethro .."

"Jenny?"

A keen moan echoed through the room as the woman in front of him ripped a wig off her head and flung it aside.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way" she cried, reaching over and plucking his gun from its holster.

Gibbs slithered to the ground. She stood over him for a moment before turning the gun on herself.

"You were supposed to love me" she said, with tears running down her face.

"Tim ..." Jen called. "You need to talk her down or she _will_ kill herself. Move in. Slowly."

McGee did as he was told.

"Her name is Verity."

"Verity ..." he whispered as he approached cautiously.

The woman looked at him blankly for a moment until recognition dawned. And with recognition came something else. Something he couldn't quite define until the words came tumbling from his lips.

"I trusted you" she sobbed. "I trusted you with my dream. I was your _muse_. You promised me that he would love me as soon as he laid eyes on me, and that we'd be together forever. But it isn't true. He doesn't love me. He doesn't want me. He wants _her_. But she can't have him. If I can't have him then she can't have him either."

They looked on in muted horror as she pointed the gun down at Gibbs and cocked it.

"Verity ... you don't want to do this" McGee said, inching a little closer; noting the way her hand trembled.

She turned to face him and it was all he could do not to shrink back from the soulless look that had overtaken her eyes.

"It isn't me at all, is it?" she said, taking a step towards him as the pieces fell into place in her head. "It's _you_."

"Verity put the gun down" he said gently.

"_You're_ the one who failed me, not him."

"Put the gun down, Verity" McGee repeated.

"He _would_ have loved me .. but you didn't write well enough" she accused, taking yet another step towards him - her hand not shaking any longer.

"Give me the gun" McGee said, putting his hand out carefully.

The only response was the lacerating pain that shot through his right shoulder where the bullet impacted it.

"You didn't write well enough" she repeated, her voice rising another notch, her finger already applying pressure to the trigger.

"Abby ..." Jen whispered to her.

She didn't need to formulate a plan of action for her, because Abby stepped into the fray of her own accord. Placing herself between Verity and McGee.

Verity faltered.

"He let me down, Amy" she said simply.

"I know he did" Abby said slowly. "But if you kill him then he can't make it up to you. And if you don't let me get Tibbs to the hospital then he'll die and -"

"He didn't react to me like he was supposed to."

"He was .. _confused_" Abby said. "You confused him with the red wig."

"I was testing him" Verity confessed.

"Give him another chance."

"He doesn't deserve another chance."

"Everyone deserves another chance. You know, I didn't get to say thank you for the flowers" Abby said, on Jen's prompting. "They were very beautiful. And I really appreciated them."

Verity nodded.

"I can help you" Abby carried on.

The woman looked at her with renewed interest.

"I'm his favourite" Abby continued. "He listens to me. I can make things right."

"Really?" Verity asked, her eyes brimming over with tears.

"Really" Abby said. "But you have to give me the gun, and you have to let them both go to the hospital. Then we'll sit down and have a talk."

Verity looked over at Gibbs' listless form.

"Do you think he'll still want me?"

"I'm sure of it" Abby said, risking a step closer to her. "Give me the gun."

Verity hesitated for a while, and then handed it over.

"I never meant to hurt him" she said as she dropped to her knees and cradled Gibbs in her arms.

Abby slid to the ground next to her and put her arms around her.

"Verity" she said slowly, "you need to tell me what you did to him ... or he could die."


	12. Chapter 12

_Three days later ..._

Jenny Shepard rubbed her neck as she entered her office. It was late, she was tired, and there were still a few things to do round here before she could kick back for a few days. She looked at her watch. Four hours before she needed to be at the airport. Enough time to get caught up on her paperwork, she decided. No doubt Frances would be breathing down her neck if she didn't get it done.

She sighed as she pulled the files out of her briefcase and spread them over her desk.

"Hey" a voice said from the doorway.

"Hey Dennis" she said with a tired smile as he perched on her desk. "How'd it go with Verity Baker?"

Dennis smiled and shook his head.

"Can you believe Reilly Press offered her a deal?"

"Reilly Press did _what_?"

"You heard me. Lyndi Crawshaw was leaving just as I arrived there this morning. And apparently the head of the pyschiatric unit thinks it's a great idea. He thinks it will help Verity channel all her negative energy."

"Way of the world huh? Kill someone, kidnap someone else, and -"

"Become an instant celebrity" Dennis finished for her, shaking his head again.

"How lucrative a deal?"

"Very lucrative. Not to mention that people are falling over themselves to write her biography. I've ignored half a dozen phone calls asking for input."

"Me too" said Jen wearily.

"You look like shit, Jen."

"Thank you Dennis. That was lovely."

"What time's your flight?"

"Four hours."

"Pip going with you?"

Jen shook her head.

"Good" he said.

Jen shrugged.

"You're going to have to deal with it sometime" he said.

"I know" she said, rotating her neck.

"And how's Gibbs?" Dennis asked, a smile stealing over his face.

"Lucky to have an efficient detoxification system" she replied with a deep sigh.

"So what'd she do? Been meaning to ask."

"She mixed a bit of sodium cyanide with dimethylsulfoxide, and then applied to it to the pages of the book she gave him to sign. DMSO is an industrial strength solvent. It carries whatever it comes in contact with directly into the blood stream"

"Where'd she get the stuff?"

Jen shrugged.

"McGee took her computer apart. She ordered it online from a company called _Sigma-Aldrich_. If Abby hadn't gotten the information from her he would have been dead in under an hour."

She suppressed a shudder, and picked up her pen again.

"Right. Have a meeting with Frances in about twenty minutes" Dennis said, sliding off the desk.

"A meeting meeting? Or a _meeting _meeting?" Jen teased.

"_That_ is none of your business" he said with a smile. "Enjoy your vacation."

Jen waved him off looked over at her phone – trying to decide whether or not to give Gibbs a call. She wasn't sure what it meant that he hadn't called since he'd been discharged from the hospital, but she figured he had his reasons. Plus she'd had stuff of her own to catch up on. She made a mental note to call him before she caught her flight, and then applied herself to the pile of papers in front of her.

__________________________________________________

"So ... you pack that thing that looks good on you this time?"

Jen looked up from her desk to find Gibbs lolling against the door of her office two hours later.

"Déjà vu" she said with a gentle smile.

"Yeah" he said, holding out a coffee.

"How are you feeling Jethro?" she asked, as she took it from him and placed it on her desk.

"Like I could use a holiday" he answered seriously.

"You could come with me, you know" she said, wrapping her arms around him and placing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

Gibbs' arms wound themselves around her back.

"Tempting – but we caught a case this morning."

"Let Tony handle it" she said. "He's chomping at the bit for a bit of real responsibility."

"Not yet" Gibbs said with a smile, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You about ready to go?" he asked, eyeing the suitcase by the door.

Jen nodded.

"I just need to have Frances sign off on my reports and I'm good to go. You don't need to drive me to the airport you know, Jethro. Especially if you have a case."

"Ducky's doing the autopsy, Abby's running tox screens, the others are running down credit reports and checking phone bills. They'll be fine for an hour."

"I'll meet you out front then" she said, turning to pick the papers up from her desk.

When she turned to leave the room he was still standing in the doorway. He took the folders from her hands and dropped them to the ground.

"Hi" he said pushing the door closed with his foot as he cupped her face.

Jen's eyes fluttered closed as he pressed a kiss to her mouth. When his lips started to travel down her neck she arched into him for a moment. And then pulled back.

"We are not doing this in my office" she said.

"The car?"

Jen grinned.

"No" she said slowly as she bent to retrieve the discarded folders. "Nice try though. I won't be long .."

She brushed her lips against his and left the room – leaving Gibbs to smile, pick up her suitcase and her coffee and follow suit.

His cell phone rang just as he was drawing up to the kerb at Dulles Airport.

"Yeah ... Abs. Airport. Coupla days. What? Sure. I'll tell 'er. Abby says bon voyage" he said when he snapped his phone shut.

"She's very sweet" Jen said with a smile as she started to pull her suitcase out of the trunk.

The feel of Gibbs' hand over hers stopped her.

"Let me" he said.

"Are you sure you won't come with me?" she asked when he'd placed her bag on the ground amd turned her to face him.

"Yeah. But I'll be here when you get back" he said slowly as his face searched hers for what she thought of the idea.

She was still looking at him when he leaned in to kiss her. A soft, long lingering kiss. His hand clasped the back of her head and held her gently, his other hand coming up around her waist to hold her to him.

"I'm going to miss my flight if I don't go in" she said, extricating herself after a while.

"Yeah" he replied.

He watched her give one last wave from the terminal doors before slipping into his car.

________________________________________________

Jen stretched as far as the cramped seating would allow. She looked at her watch – surprised that she'd fallen asleep right after take off – and knocked her wrist against the foldaway table. Her other hand shot out to catch a glass of amber liquid that threatened to fall off the edge. A small slip of paper announced simply c_ompliments of 24C. _Jen took a sip of the drink, and rose from her seat. A smile played on her lips as she walked down the aisle towards the back. A smile which faded the moment she clapped eyes on its occupant. Embarassed and unsure what to say she walked on down to the galley – deciding to use the facilities once they were close by.

She almost jumped out of her skin the moment someone laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Lookin' for me?"

"Jethro" she chided gently.

"Thought you were going to sleep through the flight" he said as he pulled her back into him and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Thought you guys had caught a case" she returned as she turned in his arms.

"We did. Left Di Nozzo in charge."

"Uh-huh" she said, brushing her lips against his.

"Seat next to you free?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"You?"

"Mmhmmm. Right here" he said, propelling her forward and following into the last row. "You gonna sleep some more?" he asked as she settled against him.

"That okay?" she said, stifling a yawn.

"Sure" he said, linking his hand with hers and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"Okay ..."

"Hey Jen .." he called softly a few moments later.

"Yes?"

"You got any idea what _Jibblets _are?"

"No. Why?"

"Abby said not to come home without one."

"Do you think she meant _giblets_?"

"I hope not" he said, sounding a trifle disgusted. "Unless it's from some exotic animal that lives on St. Lucia."

"Maybe the hotel staff will know" she said as she resettled against his shoulder and nuzzled his neck.

Gibbs slid a kiss to her forehead with a shrug.

"We'll figure it out."

_________________________________________

**Author's Note:**

If you're surprised by the fluffy ending, what can I say ... you can't possibly be more surprised than me!

I should tell you that this Jen will be appearing in a future story. A story called _Scylla and Charybdis._ Coming to a screen near you sometime in late February, I'd say. Originally she was supposed to make her debut in _that_ story .. but when _x0NCIS0x_ put the idea for _this_ story into my head, it occurred to me that I could feature her in this story first and then have her reappear.

Wanted to say thanks for all the support this story has received. A special call out to **Morgan** and **Verity**, and also to all the reviewers who found themselves in the story. Thanks for being such good sports about it! And thanks to everyone for the reviews and the PMs all the fun discussions.


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